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G?30 .1 
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Research  Bulletin  51  December,  1921 


Rural  Primary  Groups 

A Study  of  Agricultural  Neighborhoods 


J.  H.  KOLB 


AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  WISCONSIN  AND  UNITED  STATES  DEPARTMENT 
OF  AGRICULTURE  CO-OPERATING. 


SIGNIFICANT  CONCLUSIONS 

Organization  plans  must  recognize  rural  primary  groups. 
Many  rural  groups  are  too  small  for  efficient  service.  Other 
groups  render  distinctive  services  but  in  limited  numbers. 

The  village  is  the  farmers’  service  station.  Therefore,  vil- 
lage and  rural  groups  must  federate. 

Active  primary  groups  and  the  village  center  should  form 
a community. 

The  non-grouped  areas  need  organization. 

Inter-community  organization  on  the  county  basis  is  nec- 
essary for  administrative  purposes. 

PRACTICAL  IMPLICATIONS 

For  Rural  Schools  and  High  Schools,  the  implication  widens 
into  a virtual  challenge  for  consolidation  of  the  smaller  dis- 
trict schools  and  for  the  creation  of  real  farmers’  high  schools. 

For  Farmers’  Organizations,  the  practical  inference  is  that 
the  natural  self-elected  social  groupings  of  rural  people  rather 
than  arbitrary  boundaries  or  township  lines,  should  be  taken 
into  account  if  organization  is  to  be  effective  and  permanent. 

For  Village  Commercial  Associations,  the  suggestion  comes 
that  the  welfare  of  agriculture  and  its  entrepreneurs — the 
farmers — is  fundamental  even  for  commercial  progress.  There- 
fore, the  village  may  well  strive  to  become  the  farmers’  serv- 
ice station. 

For  Rural  and  Village  Churches,  the  call  for  a more  efficient 
and  unselfish  service  on  the  basis  of  the  whole  community  can 
hardly  be  mistaken.  This  means  a more  careful  integration 
of  effort.  It  means  that  every  rural  family  should  have  the 
assurance  of  being  included  in  at  least  some  parish. 

For  Social  and  Welfare  Agencies,  the  rural  point  of  view 
and  a sympathetic  but  real  knowledge  of  the  ways  and  prob- 
lems of  country  living  are  more  and  more  necessary.  Profes- 
sional services  are  welcomed  but  growth  must  spring  from  the 
heart  of  the  rural  primary  group  itself. 


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Rural  Primary  Groups 


J.  H.  Kolb 


THE  RURAL  PRIMARY  GROUPS  AND  THEIR 
DISCOVERY* 


“And  what  is  the  name  of  this  neighborhood  ?”  was  the  ques- 
tion asked  of  a thrifty  and  representative  farmer  as  he  was  busy 
at  work  preparing  his  tobacco  seed-bed. 

“Wheeler  Prairie,”  came  back  the  answer  just  as  definitely  as 
though  he  had  been  asked  for  his  family  name.  Then  with  very 
little  further  suggestion  he  told  the  story  of  this  rural  neighbor- 
hood. 


The  early  settlement  had  been  made  by  people  from  New  Eng- 
land in  the  early  forties.  They  had  accepted  the  leadership  of  a 
Mr.  Wheeler  and  had  taken  up  land  on  an  original  prairie  open- 
ing. They  had  turned  their  attention  early  to  the  establishment  of 
church,  school,  post  office,  and  cemetery.  They  were  hemmed 
in  on  the  north  by  a Scandinavian  settlement,  on  the  east  by  an 
English  group,  on  the  south  by  Seventh  Day  Baptists,  known  as 
the  Albion  center,  and  by  a neighborhood  known  as  Hanerville. 

This  latter  settlement  was  like  the  Wheeler  Prairie  neighbor- 
hood in  many  respects  and  the  two  shared  equally  in  the  church 
and  the  post  office.  To  be  sure  many  changes  have  come  since 
those  early  days.  The  original  area  has  been  expanded  by  the 
creation  of  more  farms ; new  and  varied  types  of  settlers  have 
come  in;  and  the  local  institutions  have  been  modified  but  local 
group  consciousness  and  traditions  have  remained. 

With  over  a hundred  and  twenty  of  these  neighborhoods  in  a 
single  county  one  would  be  led  to  believe  that  rural  society  is  no 


* This  study  was  carried  on  co-operatively  by  the  College  of  Agricul- 
ture and  the  Division  of  Farm  Life  Studies  of  the  Office  of  Farm  Man- 
i3,1!?  Farm  Economics,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.  Many 
of  the  details  have  been  omitted  from  the  publication,  including  numer- 
ous maps  of  one  section  of  the  county  when  the  other  furnished  illus- 
tration of  the  desired  comparisons.  Additional  information  or  details 
can  be  secured  by  addressing  the  Rural  Life  Section,  Department  of 
Agricultural  Economics,  University  of  Wisconsin,  Madison,  Wis. 


602422 


4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


FIG.  1. — DANE  COUNTY  RURAL  PRIMARY  GROUPS 
Over  120  of  these  neighborhoods  are  found  in  this  county. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


5 


exception  to  the  generalization  that  the  recognition  of  the  funda- 
mental nature  of  the  group  in  all  the  multiplied  rfbrms  of  social 
activity  is  a prerequisite  to  any  understanding  of  social  life  or 
theory.1 

Importance  of  Rural  Groupings. — It  should  not  require  argu- 
ment to  bring  conviction  with  regard  to  the  importance  of  these 
rural  groupings.  All  people  have  had  and  still  have  these  group 
arrangements,  whether  it  be  the  Teutonic  rural  village,  the  Rus- 
sian mir,  the  New  England  town  or  the  midwest  settlement.  It  is 
within  these  groups  that  the  child  gets  his  first  training  in  the 
social  life.  It  is  from  these  groups  that  institutions  come  as  the 
fixed  or  permanent  form^of  this  social  experience. 

Many  factors  making  for  change  in  these  fundamental  group- 
ings are  at  work.  They  have  a decided  significance  for  rural  or- 
ganization from  many  standpoints  such  as  education,  social  activ- 
ity, religious  work,  and  cooperative  effort.  The  so-called  “rural- 
community  movement”  is  attaching  a new  importance  to  these 
factors.  Students  of  rural  life,  social  workers,  representatives  of 
farmers’  organizations  and  certainly  not  least,  practical  farmers 
and  their  families  are  asking  such  questions  as  these : “What  shall 
determine  a local  community  geographically  ?”  “How  shall  we 
make  the  centers  of  interest  coincide?”  “How  can  we  develop  a 
community  point  of  view?”  “How  can  we  determine  with  any 
degree  of  accuracy  what  are  to  be  the  ‘natural’  centers  for  school, 
for  church,  for  farmers’  organization  or  for  recreation?” 

This  study  makes  a beginning  at  first  hand  investigation  of  the 
social  groupings  in  rural  society.  It  is  hoped  that  some  help  may 
be  secured  for  a better  understanding  of  the  whole  matter  of  rural 
community  organization  which  in  these  days  is  receiving  so  much 
attention  and  publicity.  Too  much  of  the  latter  seems  to  have  as 
its  basis  propaganda  rather  than  studied  facts. 

What  Is  the  Rural  Primary  Group?  Various  writings  in 
the  whole  field  of  rural  life  and  organization  have  tended  to  a 
rather  insoluble  confusion  between  the  term  “neighborhood”  and 
“community.”  Therefore,  in  an  attempt  to  avoid  this  difficulty 
and  to  place  the  idea  in  question  as  clearly  as  possible,  the  rural 
primary  group  shall  mean  in  this  study  that  first  grouping  beyond 

1 Bodenhafer:  Comparative  Role  of  the  Group  Concept  in  Ward’s 

Dynamic  Sociology  and  Contemporary  American  Sociology.  American  Jour- 
nal Sociology , Volume  XXY,  p.  273. 


6 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


the  family  which  has  social  significance  and  which  is  conscious 
of  some  local  unity.  This  working  definition  follows  quite  closely 
Professor  Cooley’s  formula  for  the  general  primary  group.* 2  The 
rural  primary  group  is  essentially  a psychological  thing,  yet  for 
objective  purposes  of  description  and  measurement  geographic 
areas  and  terms  will  be  used.  The  neighborhood  defined  by  the 
standardization  committee  of  the  American  Country  Life  Associa- 
tion as  “that  geographic  group  of  farm  families  having  some  local 
cohesion,”  seems  to  come  nearest  this  requirement,  therefore 
neighborhood  and  primary  group  will  at  times  be  used  synony- 
mously.3 

How  the  Groups  Were  Discovered.  In  order  to  get  as  ob- 
jective a basis  as  possible  in  determining  whether  or  not  a 
farm  family  belonged  to  a primary  group,  it  was  decided  to 
frame  a question  centering  around  the  name  of  the  neighbor- 
hood group.  The  theory  was  that  when  a family  recognized 
some  grouping  as  its  own,  and  was  willing  to  confess  this 
name  as  it  would  its  own  family  name,  there  was  evidence  of 
group  consciousness  and  unity.  To  be  sure,  some  true  groups 
did  not  have  names.  The  number  discovered  of  such,  how- 
ever, was  surprisingly  small.4  To  be  sure  the  name  also  may 
stand  for  many  different  things  in  different  groups  and  in  fact, 
in  the  same  group.  But  the  search  was  first  for  the  group, 
whatever  its  reasons  for  existence.  The  study  of  the  factors 
of  causation  becomes  one  of  the  phases  of  the  study  which 
follows. 

The  Family  Question  Card.  By  the  co-operation  of  the 
two  county  superintendents  and  their  supervising  teachers,  as 
well  as  their  teachers  in  the  district  schools,  the  following  question 
was  asked  of  the  farm  families  of  Dane  county: 


* C.  H.  Cooley  defines  the  primary  group:  “By  primary  group  I mean 

those  characterized  by  intimate  face-to-face  association  and  co-opera- 
tion. They  are  primary  in  several  senses,  but  properly  in  that  they  are 
fundamental  in  forming  the  social  nature  and  ideals  of  the  individual. 
The  result  of  intimate  association,  psychologically  is  a certain  fusion 
of  individuals  in  a common  whole,  so  that  one’s  very  self,  for  many 
purposes  at  least,  is  the  common  life  and  purpose  of  the  group  “Social  Or- 
ganization/’ p.  23. 

8 Proceedings  First  National  Country  Life  Conference  (Baltimore,  1919), 

p.  128. 

4 The  eight  groups  included  on  the  maps  but  not  reporting  the  name 
are  as  follows  (a  name  locally  recognized  was  used  in  each  case): 
Betlach-Dushack,  Deerfield,  East  Blue  Mounds,  First  Lutheran,  Luther 
or  Hickory  Hill,  Primrose,  Springdale  and  Table  Bluff. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


7 


“By  what  name  is  the  country  neighborhood  called 
in  which  you  live? 

We  do  not  mean  the  name  of  the  township  nor  the 
name  of  the  nearby  village  or  city,  nor  even  necessarily, 
though  it  may  be,  the  name  of  your  district  school,  but 
we  do  mean  the  name  of  the  country  locality  or  neigh- 
borhood in  which  your  home  is  located.  Some  such 
names  in  the  country  are  Albion  Prairie,  Spring  Valley, 
Pierceville,  Springfield  Corners,  etc.” 

A place  for  the  name  of  the  head  of  the  family  with  address, 
location  of  the  farm  and  school  district  was  provided  on  the 
bottom  of  the  card.  The  card  carried  the  signatures  of  the 
county  superintendent  and  the  investigator  for  the  College 
of  Agriculture. 

Dane  County,  Two  Counties.  It  should  be  noted  at  this 
point  that  the  county  for  school  purposes  is  really  two  coun- 
ties in  that  each  has  its  own  superintendent  and  staff  with 
separate  administrations.  The  maps  and  tabulations  which 
follow  will  usually  be  separated  on  the  basis  of  this  division. 

Establishing  the  Boundaries.  After  the  question  cards  came 
in  through  the  offices  of  the  superintendents,  the  answers  were 
tentatively  plotted  on  maps  taken  from  a county  atlas.  The 
farm  was  considered  the  family’s  geographic  unit.  The  lines 
enclosing  the  group  were  drawn,  therefore,  in  such  a way  as 
to  enclose  these  farm  units.  In  order  to  check  on  possible  error 
or  discrepancy  and  to  locate  such  families  as  could  not  be 
found  in  the  atlas  or  directories,  the  whole  of  the  county  was 
gone  over  carefully.  Some  responsible  person  in  each  of  these 
neighborhoods,  usually  designated  in  advance  by  some  one 
familiar  with  that  section,  was  interviewed  with  reference  to 
the  correctness  of  the  boundary  as  well  as  to  the  story  of  the 
group  itself.  He  was  encouraged  to  tell  of  its  history,  and  to 
discuss  its  present  conditions.  In  order  to  get  as  careful  a 
check  as  possible  some  groups  were  visited  three  or  four  times. 


8 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


NEIGHBORHOOD  BASE  MAP 


FIG.  2.— FINAL  BOUNDARIES  OF  PRIMARY  GROUPS  IN  WEST  DANE 

COUNTY 

Although  the  geographic  limits  look  hard  and  fast  yet  the  true  condition  is 
quite  the  opposite. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


9 


NEIGHBORHOOD  BASE  MAP 


FIG.  3. — NEIGHBORHOOD  AND  TOWNSHIP  LINES  IN  EAST  DANE  COUNTY 

These  neighborhood  base  maps  will  be  used  for  the  various  comparisons 
which  follow. 


10 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


Additional  Questions  for  West.  In  the  western  part  of  the 
county  a series  of  additional  questions  were  asked.  They 
were : 

“Where  do  you  do  most  of  your  trading? 

If  you  have  children  where  do  you  send  them  to 
school?  High  School? 

Where  do  you  go  for  farmer  organization  meetings 
such  as  Equity,  Farm  Bureau,  Farmers’  Club.s,  Shipping 
Associations,  etc? 

To  how  many  families  within  a distance  of  five  miles 
are  you  or  your  family  related  by  blood  or  marriage  as 
near  or  nearer  than  second  cousins?” 

The  Primary  Groups  Mapped.  The  final  boundaries  of  the 
primary  groups  are  represented  in  Figures  2 and  3.  Figure 
2 for  the  west  and  Figure  3 for  the  east.  It  will  be  observed 
that  the  names  of  the  groups  appear  within  their  boundaries. 
The  township  names  appear  in  larger  print  wherever  possible 
in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  townships.  The  village  and 
city  areas  are  shaded  and  the  names  are  given  nearby  in  modi- 
fied script.  It  is  of  course  very  easy  with  maps  of  this  sort 
to  give  the  impression  of  static  conditions.  The  geographic 
limits  look  hard  and  fast.  The  true  condition  is  quite  the 
opposite.  These  groups  are  psychological  in  character  and  are 
constantly  in  states  of  change.  The  hatching  and  cross  hatch- 
ing are  attempts  to  show  certain  movements.  The  cross  hatch 
in  Albion  township,  for  example,  represents  certain  overlap- 
ping. The  Albion  group  is  contracting  and  the  cross  hatched 
areas  represent  family  units  which  designated  both  areas  as 
their  grouping.  The  separation  is  still  in  process  here.  The 
single  hatch  is  used  to  indicate  the  inclusion  of  one  group 
or  part  of  one  group  within  the  boundaries  of  another  group. 
This  condition  is  most  pronounced  in  Christiana  township  in 
the  eastern  part  and  in  Springdale  township  in  the  western. 
These  maps,  known  as  neighborhood  base  maps,  are  to  be 
used  for  the  comparisons  which  follow. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


11 


PART  II. 

GENESIS  AND  TENDENCIES  OF  THE  GROUPS 

The  significance  of  groups  in  rural  society  does  not  end  with 
the  effort  to  discover  and  define  them;  it  is  their  genesis, 
changes,  and  tendencies  which  engage  attention.  The  prob- 
lem may  be  encountered  immediately  by  studying  the  historic 
basis  and  the  factors  which  have  tended  to  create  and  hold  the 
groups.  An  outline  of  the  general  conditions  of  Dane  County 
itself  could  be  made  as  preparatory  to  this  historic  study  but 
it  was  deemed  wise  to  do  this  only  in  connection  with  the 
discussion  of  the  various  factors  themselves. 

The  Historic  and  Present  Day  Groupings  Compared.  The 

historic  groupings  as  compared  with  the  present  groupings  are 
indicated  by  Figures  4 and  5.  The  smoothed  circular  lines 
show  the  groups  as  they  were  about  forty  or  fifty  years  ago. 
This  was  at  a time  well  after  the  settlement  period  when  many 
of  the  early  groups  seemed  to  be  at  their  height.  The  shad- 
ings indicate  the  groups  which  are  at  present  “going  con- 
cerns,” which  are  actually  functioning  or  are  existing  to  some 
definite  purpose.  Others  of  the  groups  included  in  the  regular 
base  maps  are  simply  “hold  overs”  from  an  earlier  time,  but 
without  particular  present  day  significance.  Still  others  be- 
cause of  changed  conditions  are  too  loosely  knit  to  have 
marked  importance  at  present.  These  comparisons  show  pos- 
sible tendencies. 

By  observing  Figures  4 and  5,  it  is  apparent  that  practically 
all  of  the  area,  excepting  a comparatively  uniform  space  sur- 
rounding the  cities  and  villages,  is  covered  with  the  neighbor- 
hood settlements.  The  curved  lines  representing  the  earlier 
groups  show  in  many  of  the  cases  that  the  groups  were  larger 
than  indicated  on  the  present  base  maps.  They  show  the  old 
groups  filtering  in  between  the  existing  groups.  The  excep- 
tions to  these  two  observations  seem  to  be  first  where  a group 
settled  early  on  a prairie  and  then  as  time  passed,  expanded 


12 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


NEIGHBORHOOD  HISTORICAL  MAP 


WEST  DANE  COUNTY /// 


Neighborhood  ^ 


Boundaries  7 

oJl')  "H/J  ToWNSh.F  ' /f 


_ L / UNE5 

\A  M 

Active  / 

Neighborhood  /, 

Former  7 

Neighborhood 


FIG.  4.— HISTORIC  GROUPINGS  COMPARED  WITH  PRESENT  GROUPINGS 

The  shadings  indicate  the  groups  which  are  at  present  “going  concerns.” 
Others  of  the  groups  included  in  the  regular  base  maps  are  simply  “hold  overs” 
from  an  earlier  time. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


13 


NEIGHBORHOOD  HISTORICAL  MAP 


FIG.  5.— NEIGHBORHOOD  SETTLEMENTS  COVER  A LARGE  PART  OF 

THIS  AREA 

The  curved  red  lines  representing-  the  earlier  groups  show  that  at  one  time 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  county  was  included  within  some  group. 


14 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


NEIGHBORHOOD  TOPOGRAPHY 


Neighborhood 

Boundaries 


FIG.  6.— GREATEST  INFLUENCE  OF  TOPOGRAPHY  IN  SOUTHWESTERN 

PART  OF  COUNTY 

Social  group  consciousness  characterizes  all  these  settlements. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


15 


NEIGHBORHOOD  TOPOGRAPHY 


FIG.  7.— RELATION  OF  TOPOGRAPHY  TO  SOCIAL  GROUPS 

There  is  a real  relationship  between  the  rural  population  groupings  and  the 
contour  of  the  country. 


16 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


onto  a wider  area,  still  holding  the  group  name  and  con- 
sciousness. Wheeler  Prairie  in  Dunkirk  township  and  Liberty 
Prairie  in  Cottage  Grove  township  are  striking  illustrations 
of  this  movement.  Another  case  of  expansion  comes  in 
groups  where  nationality  bonds,  coupled  with  religion,  have 
led  to  increased  settlement  and  to  group  solidarity.  Kosh- 
konong  in  Christiana  and  Pleasant  Springs  townships,  Daley- 
ville  in  Perry  township,  and  Ashton  in  Springfield  township 
are  examples  of  this  tendency.  The  groups  shown  on  the 
base  maps  without  a corresponding  historic  boundary  and  yet 
without  the  shading  indicating  present  activity  and  function, 
are  apparently  in  the  transition.  Some  are  expanding  but 
many  show  signs  of  weakening  in  favor  of  the  expanding 
groups  or  of  the  enlarging  social  and  economic  influence  of 
nearby  village  or  city. 

Factors  Creating  and  Holding  the  Group.  Table  I classi- 
fies the  factors  tending  to  create  and  to  hold  the  primary 
groups  together.  The  original  and  the  present  conditions  are 
put  in  contrasting  positions  and  a primary  and  secondary  influence 
indicated  in  each  instance.  In  many  of  the  groups  there  is  a close 
third  factor  also,  but  some  limitation  had  to  be  established. 


Table  I. — Factors  Creating  and  Holding  the  Group  Together 


1 

( 

Totals 

Eastern 

Western 

Factors 

Originally 

At  present 

Originally 

At  present 

Originally 

At  present 

Prin. 

Sec. 

Prin. 

Sec. 

Prin. 

Sec. 

Prin. 

Sec. 

Prin. 

Sec. 

Prin. 

Sec. 

Common  former  resi- 
dence   

15 

8 

0 

0 

7 

4 

0 

0 

8 

4 

0 

0 

Economic  purpose 

17 

7 

14 

6 

7 

5 

10 

3 

10 

2 

4 

3 

Educational  purpose.. 

4 

6 

29 

9 

3 

2 

12 

4 

1 

4 

17 

5 

Leading  family 

12 

6 

2 

0 

7 

1 

1 

0 

5 

6 

1 

0 

Mail  distribution 

0 

8 

6 

0 

0 

3 

0 

0 

0 

5 

0 

0 

Nationality  bonds 

34 

13 

5 

27 

13 

7 

2 

11 

21 

6 

3 

16 

Religious  purpose 

9 

30 

32 

5 

6 

15 

15 

2 

3 

15 

17 

3 

Social  purpose..  

14 

22 

8 

21 

10 

11 

3 

14 

4 

11 

5 

7 

Topography  

16 

12 

5 

10 

3 

2 

1 

0 

13 

10 

4 

10 

Lack  of  any  factor.. 

0 

0 

26 

0 

0 

0 

12 

0 

0 

0 

14 

C 

Rural  Primary  Groups 


17 


Under  the  “present  lack  of  any  factor”  26  of  the  121  groups 
appear.  This  is  21  per  cent  and  it  is  exactly  the  same  for 
both  the  eastern  and  the  western  sections. 

Topography  with  Soils  and  Vegetation.  No  technical  or 
detailed  discussion  will  be  attempted  in  relation  to  the  whole 
matter  of  the  topography  of  the  county,  or  of  its  soils  and 
vegatation.  Certain  influences,  however,  are  very  pronounced 
in  their  relation  to  the  rural  groupings.  The  general  altitude 
of  Dane  County  ranges  from  800  to  1,200  feet  above  sea  level. 
The  highest  point  is  Blue  Mounds  with  an  altitude  of  about 
1,550  feet.5  The  lowest  part  is  along  the  Wisconsin  river. 
The  surface  of  the  central  and  eastern  parts  is  rather  rolling 
though  comparatively  smooth.  In  the  northwest  part,  the 
surface  is  broken  by  small  rough-sided  knobs  a couple  of  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  valley  bottoms.  In  the  southwest  is  the 
“driftless”  area  and  it  is  marked  by  sharp  hills  and  valleys 
where  streams  have  cut  one  hundred  or  more  feet  below  the 
average  level.  In  the  entire  western  part  the  hill-tops  are 
from  200  to  300  feet  higher  than  those  of  the  eastern  and  cen- 
tral part,  while  the  valley  bottoms  are  about  100  to  150  feet 
higher  than  the  valleys  of  the  eastern  section.  The  valleys 
in  the  northwest  are  lower  and  in  the  southwest  higher  than 
the  rest  of  the  county.  The  drainage  is  divided  between  the 
Wisconsin  and  the  Rock  river  systems.  The  watershed 
crosses  the  county  in  a northeast  and  a southeast  direction. 

Suffice  it  to  say  for  the  geological  formation  of  the  county 
that  it  consists  of  a series  of  sedimentary  rocks  of  unequal 
resistance  and  so  uplands  and  lowlands  are  produced,  which 
in  turn  have  been  dissected  into  hills  and  moderately  wide 
valleys. 

A discussion  of  the  soils  is  of  use  here  only  as  a means  of 
indicating  something  of  the  original  vegetation  in  such  gen- 
eral classifications  as  prairie,  marsh  and  forest.  The  prairie 
area  is  scattered  well  over  the  county,  especially  in  the  central 
and  eastern  parts  and  is  for  the  most  part  a black  soil  though 
not  very  deep.  The  marsh  sections  are  mostly  either  peat  or 
muck  and  grow  the  marsh  “grasses,”  and  now  and  then  the 
tamarack.  In  the  forested  parts,  the  oak  easily  predominates, 

8 Smith,  W.  D.  Thesis  on  Geology  of  Blue  Mounds  (1902),  University  of 
Wisconsin,  p.  23. 


18 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


occurring  mostly  in  patches  and  groves  and  constitutes  what 
is  so  generally  and  popularly  known,  especially  in  Wisconsin, 
as  “oak  openings.” 

Now  what  has  this  matter  of  topography  and  original  vege- 
tation to  do  with  the  social  groups  of  the  early  settlers?  Fig- 
ures 6 and  7 show  a topography  map  superimposed  on  the 
group  base  maps  and  figures  8 and  9,  a vegetation  map  handled 
in  the  same  way.G  Even  casual  observation  indicates  a real 
relationship  between  these  rural  population  groupings  and 
the  contour  of  the  country,  especially  when  taken  along  with 
the  original  vegetation  areas.  The  topography  shows  its 
greatest  influence  in  the  southwestern  part  just  as  would  be 
expected  for  there  is  Britt  Valley,  Blue  Valley,  Happy  Valley, 
German  Valley,  Spring  Valley,  Drammen  Valley,  Valders 
Valley,  Erbe  Valley,  McPherson  Valley,  Norwegian  Valley, 
Union  Valley,  Green  Valley,  all  having  their  social  group  con- 
sciousness, their  little  streams  running  down  through  their 
settlements,  and  their  valley  bottoms  with  rather  sharp  and 
steep  ridges  between.  The  road  follows  along  these  streams 
and  the  farmsteads  are  nestled  back  a little  at  the  foot  of  the 
hills.  It  is  no  ordinary  experience  to  travel  up  one  of  these 
valleys  oh  a June  day,  see  the  “black  and  white”  cattle  grazing 
on  the  hillsides  and  visit  with  the  farmers  as  they  bring  their 
teams  to  a rest  along  the  roadside  fence.  When  the  nation- 
ality factor  is  combined  into  this  whole  situation,  there  is 
plenty  of  causative  material  for  social  groups.  In  the  cen- 
tral and  eastern  sections  are  the  prairie  and  the  “openings” 
which  played  a part  in  the  early  settlings.  Liberty  Prairie, 
Koshkonong,  both  East  and  West,  Albion  Prairie,  Wheeler 
Prairie,  Stoner  Prairie,  Nine  Mounds  Prairie,  Spring  Prairie, 
Vilas,  The  Ridge,  Hundred  Mile  Grove,  and  Norway  Grove, 
give  testimony  to  the  relationships.  With  the  exception  of 
Koshkonong  these  prairies  were  settled  by  the  eastern  Amer- 

8 The  maps  represented  in  Figures  5 to  8 inclusive  were  drawn  under 
the  supervision  of  Dr.  Paul  L.  Harmer  of  the  Department  of  Soils,  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin.  The  vegetation  map  is  drafted  from  the  soil  map 
of  the  Geological  and  Soil  Survey  Quadrangles.  The  basis  for  vegeta- 
tion in  relation  to  the  soil  types  is  as  follows: 

I.  Forest — II.  Prairie — III.  Swamp  grass  and  tamarack — 

Miami  Carrington  Peat 

Knox  Dodgeville  Clyde 

Boone  Wabash  Muck 

Plainfield  Fox  Dunning 

Rodman  Waukesha 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


19 


ican  stock,  either  by  choice  or  by  necessity.  For  the  most  part 
it  seems  to  have  been  by  choice. 

The  Economic  Factor  with  Type  of  Agriculture.  It  is  no- 
ticeable at  once  that  the  dairy  section  follows  very  closely  the 
western  limits  of  the  glacier.  The  tobacco  culture  is  moving 
north  from  its  early  home  in  Albion  and  Christiana  townships. 
We  can  do  no  better  to  summarize  the  inter-relation  between 
the  social  factors  and  the  type  of  agriculture  than  to  quote 
from  Professor  Hibbard’s  publication  :7 

“Among  social  influences,  a few  stand  out  with  un- 
mistakable clearness.  The  Ohio  people,  in  the  south- 
ern, northeastern,  and  the  northwestern  parts  of  Dane 
county,  all  engaged  to  greater  or  less  extent  in  sheep 
raising.  The  Vermonters  were  also  disposed  to  own 
sheep,  and  occasionally  an  Englishman  or  a Scotchman 
ventured  to  invest  in  a small  flock.  To  the  Ohio  people 
is  also  due  the  credit  of  introducing  tobacco  culture. 

“The  Norwegians  are  the  main  tobacco  growers  and 
have  been  almost  from  the  beginning.  It  so  happened 
that  these  people  settled  in  Christiana  and  Albion  at 
a very  early  day,  and  during  the  years  of  the  great  Nor- 
wegian immigration  there  were  always  great  numbers  of 
new  arrivals,  with  large  families  and  no  money,  keenly 
on  the  lookout  for  an  opportunity  to  earn  a living  and 
get  homes  of  their  own.  Here  was  a rare  chance. 

“Probably  dairying  has  worked  a greater  change  in 
the  people  engaged  in  it  than  has  any  other  kind  of 
agriculture  in  the  state.  * * * The  leisurely  man- 

ner of  the  farmer  of  a generation  ago  will  not  do  now, 
and  with  a fast-moving  team,  with  little  lingering  at 
the  ends  of  the  field,  with  the  lunches  omitted,  the 
Germans  as  well  as  the  rest  have  adopted  the  genuine 
American  hustle.” 

But  production  of  agricultural  products  is  not  the  whole  of 
the  story.  Marketing  was  early  a problem  as  it  is  today ; and 
this  combined  with  the  necessity  for  getting  foodstuffs,  cloth- 
ing and  other  merchandise  which  could  not  be  produced  lo- 
cally, gave  rise  to  a considerable  number  of  primary  groups 
which  are  thus  classified  under  the  economic  caption.  Table 
XV.  (which  will  be  referred  to  again)  shows  that  at  present 
there  are  86  local  economic  institutions  such  as  store,  shop, 

7 Hibbard,  B.  H.  The  History  of  Agriculture  in  Dane  County.  Bui.  of 
University  of  Wisconsin,  No.  101,  (1902),  pp.  145,  172  and  182. 


20 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


NEIGHBORHOOD  NATIVE  VEGETATION 


FIG.  8. — INTER-RELATION  BETWEEN  SOCIAL  FACTORS  AND  FOREST 

GROWTHS 

The  vegetation  areas  combined  with  the  contour  of  the  country  affect  the 
rural  social  groupings. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


21 


NEIGHBORHOOD  NATIVE  VEGETATION 


FIG.  9.— THE  PRAIRIE  AND  “OPENINGS”  PLAYED  A LARGE  PART  IN 
EARLY  SETTLINGS 

These  prairies  were  settled  mainly  by  eastern  American  stock. 


22 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


cheese  factory  or  creamery  operating  within  these  121  rural 
groups.  With  the  exception  of  the  district  school  these  are 
the  most  numerous  of  the  local  institutions.  In  the  early  days 
many  of  these  little  trading  posts  were  social  centers,  centers 
for  the  distribution  of  mail  as  well  as  the  place  for  getting 
together  to  “talk  things  over”  without  any  need  for  special 
occasions.  Some  of  these  groups  represented  in  the  county 
are  Utica,  Hillside,  Fitchburg,  Story  Town,  Lakeview,  Marx- 
ville,  Springfield  Corners,  North  Bristol,  Nora,  Token  Creek, 
and  Daleyville.  ' Here  again  the  factors  were  not  single  in 
their  working.  Many  of  these  trading  points  are  still  sur- 
prisingly healthy  in  the  amount  of  business  done  and  service 
rendered,  even  though  off  a state  or  county  trunk  road  and 
with  a village  or  city  but  two  or  three  miles  away. 

It  should  be  emphasized  that  this  economic  factor  was  after 
all  fundamental  in  the  life  and  origin  of  each  group.  Farm- 
ing was  primary  in  the  struggle  to  get  a living ; it  was  the  ac- 
cepted occupation.  It  was  only  only  in  times  of  stress  or  crisis 
that  this  economic  factor  as  such  rose  to  a place  of  active 
attention  in  the  group  life ; the  remainder  of  the  time  it  lay 
beneath  the  surface,  an  assumed  loyalty. 

Population  and  the  Nationality  Factor.  Much  space  could 
be  given  to  a discussion  of  the  population  data  shown  in  Tables 
II  and  III.  With  the  risk  of  certain  exceptions,  however,  it 
may  be  said  that  the  greatest  settlement  period  for  the  county 
was  between  1850  and  1860.  Increases  extended  to  1870  due  to 
the  steady  influx  of  Scandinavians  in  the  southeastern  quarter 
of  the  county.  For  the  decades  from  1870  to  1890  inclusive,  the 
totals  of  the  strictly  country,  exclusive  of  cities  or  incorpor- 
ated villages,  show  in  round  numbers  40,000,  with  41,000  in 
1900,  with  a drop  to  38,000  in  1910  and  36,000  in  1920.  The 
decline  started  in  1880  and  continued  with  only  a slight  re- 
covery in  1900.  The  incorporated  villages,  when  the  cities 
of  Madison  and  Stoughton  are  excluded,  show  only  rather  slow 
growth.  This  growth  was  actually  checked  in  the  1910-1920 
period  as  shown  when  the  Mount  Horeb  figure  is  excluded. 

This  population  distributed  according  to  nationalities  is 
summarized  in  Table  IV,  where  the  classification  is  by  town- 
ships. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


23 


Table  II— Population  of  Dane  County  by  Townships  Exclusive  of 
Cities  and  Incorporated  Villages,  1840-19201 


Township 

1840  1850 

1860 

1870 

1880 

1890 

1900 

1910 

1920 

3142  14,838 

36,417 

40,576 

40,264 

40,380 

41,816 

38,010 

36,720 

817 

1,152 

673 

1,142 

1,155 

1,351 

1,066 

902 

1,516 

1,003 

742 

1,590 

934 

1,474 

924 

1,271 

845 

Berrv  ____  

234 

B1  :ck  Earth3 

* 701 

966 

796 

372 

356 

Blooming  Grove  _ 

__  _ 291 

710 

1,011 

927 

999 

1,119 

1,048 

1,520 

971 

334 

809 

1,165 

1,274 

1,127 

1,342 

955 

1,009 

1,139 

1,002 

1,859 

1,159 

1,331 

1,161 

972 

1,449 

1,093 

1,129 

2,379 

1,305 

1,103 

1,161 

943 

873 

Bristol 

467 

1,254 

1,025 

1,424 

1,268 

1,230 

2,401 

1,307 

1,120 

1,236 

1,643 

1,306 

1,243 

1,111 

1,259 

1,419 

Burke3 

Christiana  _ 

- 1,054 

Cottage  Grove 

785 

1,303 

1,255 

1,241 

830 

Cross  Plains  _ 

324 

1,125 

952 

1,506 

1,206 

933 

Dane  _ _ 

322 

1,043 

830 

Deerfield 

639 

952 

1 ,040 

1,235 

1,406 

1 , 104 
1,536 
1,155 
1,004 
1,567 

991 

928 

Dunkirk  _ _______  _ 

782 

1,760 

1,194 

1,283 

972 

1,396 

1,145 

971 

1,705 

460 

929 

1,537 
1,145 
1,059 
2,327 
451 
908 
922 
786 
734 
945 
1,122 
684 
904 
992 
931 
1,072 
956 
745 
1,377 
904 
1,653 
1 409 

Dunn  _ _ _ 

330 

1,055 

1,172 

I 1,113 
958 

Fitchburg 

598 

1,177 

1,152 

857 

978 

Madison  _ 

346 

&52 

735 

919 

Mazo  m anie 

372 

570 

1,646 

1,406 

1,513 

1,108 

987 

448 

493 
1,484 
i 1,550 
997 
881 
1,050 
1,453 
817 
966 
1,297 
1,050 
1.108 
1,039 
826 
1,335 
1,048 
1,472 
1,809 
943 

Medina  _ 

495 

1.068 

1,525 

1,363 

1,393 
1,433 
932 
1 841 

Middleton 

_ _|  320 

1,315 

954 

Montrose  -- 

372 

856 

1,023 

1,498 

1,051 

1,065 

829 

888 

Oregon  _ 

638 

1,259 

837 

Perrv  _ 

121 

924 

996 

1,037 
j 1,313 
737 
886 
1,052 
1,010 
1,039 
986 

Pleasant  Springs  _____ 

732 

1,135 

1,278' 

888' 

1,501 

889 

Primrose  _ 

334 

889 

1.015 

Roxbury  _ _ 

274 

1,234 

1,207 

1,139 

1,138] 

1,157 

1,133 

1,073 

Rutland  _ _ ___  _ 

759 

1,181 

1,222 

Springdale 

344 

943 

1,006 

1,240 

923 

1,120 

1,111 

912 

892 

1,225 

1,009 

Springfield  _ _ 

_ 1 295 

1,207 

1,439; 

984 

Sun  Prairie  __  

506 

1,159 

Vermont3  _ 

925 

1,244 

1,125 

961 

1,017 

691 

1,319 

1,036 

1,734 

1,465 

826 

Verona  _ ___  _ _ _ 

364 

1,221 

748 

Vienna  _____ 

--  _ 253 

1,176 

1,589, 

1,051 

1,987 

Westport  ___; _ _ 

_!  202 

1.095 

1,581 

1,329 

963 

Windsor  

i 884 

1,021 

1,028 

1,256 

1,068 

1,210 

983 

York  - __  

*798 

1 Tables  II  and  III  were  prepared  from  census  tabulations  furnished  expressly  for 
the  purpose  by  William  A.  Hunt,  Chief  Statistician  for  Population,  Bureau  of  the 
Census. 

2 In  1840  Dane  County  was  not  reported  by  minor  civil  divisions. 

3 These  towns  were  organized  since  1850. 

It  would  be  of  exceeding  interest  to  be  able  to  trace  back 
in  each  township  the  actual  settlement  and  transfer  of  the 
farms  as  could  be  done  from  the  Wisconsin  Domesday  Book 
which  is  now  in  process.8  For  example,  in  the  central  part  of 
Primrose  township  the  early  evidence  of  the  now  decadent 
group  known  as  Primrose  Center  is  unmistakable.  The  farm 
names  are  early  American  and  English  names,  such  as  Chand- 
ler, Osborne,  Fuller,  Avery,  Walker,  Newton,  Porter.  Around 
this  group  and  even  interpersed  with  it  are  the  names  of  Nor- 
, wegians,  many  of  whom  took  their  land  directly  from  the  gov- 


8It  has  been  possible  to  examine  a number  of  the  township  plats  for 
Dane  county  because  of  the  courtesy  and  help  of  Dr.  Joseph  Shafer 
Superintendent  of  the  State  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin  Townshin 
plats  have  been  made  for  each  farm  showing-  when  and  by  whom  Che 
land  was  entered.  Another  plat  of  the  same  farm  with  names  of  farm- 
ers has  been  made  for  the  year  1860. 


24 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


Table  III. — Population  of  Cities  and  Incorporated  Villages  In  Dane 

County  1840-1920 


City  or  village 

1840, 1 1850 

1860 

1870 

1880 

1890 

1900 

1910 

1920 

Total 

j 1,801 

7,505 

12,520 

12,969 

19,198 

27,619 

39,425 

52,778 

Bpllevillpl 

164 

132 

319 

385 

422 

625 

Black  Earth 

479 

464 

Brnnklvn2  ..  . 

i 

90 

117 

Cambridge 

__  . .1  

507 

1 490 

Dane 

280 

296 

316 

Dp  Fnrpst. 

i . 

431 

493 

Dppr  field 

338 

515 

533 

594 

Fair  Oaks3 

891 

Parmersville 

20* 

! 1 

McFarland  

168 

Madison  __  

1,525 

6,611 

9,176 

10,324 

13,426 

19,164 

125,531 

459 

38,378 

497 

Marshall 

Mazomanie 

604 

1,143 

1,034 

902 

917 

756 

Middleton 

285 

679 

1,048 

712 

791 

1,350 

871 

Mount  Horeb 

j 864 

Oregon  



527 

595 

697 

Pheasant  Branch  _ _ __  

1 

126 

173 

! | 

Rockdale 

139 

Stoughton 

70 

985 

1,353 

597 

2,470 

704 

3,431 

938 

4,761 

1,119 

550 

5,101 

1,236 

560 

Sun  Prairie  -- 

626 

Waunakee  

312 

443! 

JPart  in  Dane  County,  625  in  1920;  part  in  Green  County,  66  in  1920.  Located  wholly 
in  Dane  in  1900  and  1910. 

2Part  in  Dane  County,  117  in  1920  ; 90  in  1910.  Part  in  Green  County,  290  in  1920; 
272  in  1910. 

3Fair  Oaks  village  together  with  parts  of  Blooming  Grove,  Burke,  and  Madison 
towns,  were. annexed  to  Madison  city  since  1910. 


ernment  from  about  1850  to  1855.  Again,  on  the  Pleasant 
Springs  township  plat  is  to  be  found  evidence  of  the  early 
American  group  on  Liberty  Prairie.  It  was  early  called  Lib- 
erty Prairie  but  corresponded  more  closely  to  the  actual  prairie 
and  extended  over  just  a little  into  Pleasant  Springs  township 
from  the  north.  Here  in  1860  the  family  names  are  Ames, 
Parker,  Adams,  McComb.  To  the  south  a little  more  in  what 
is  now  West  Koshkonong  the  Norwegians  had  a solid  pos- 
session, taking  the  land  from  about  1845  to  1850. 

Now,  let  this  rather  hasty  tracing  of  the  population  move- 
ment be  transferred  to  the  rural  groups  as  shown  in  the  tabu- 
lation under  Table  V,  called  “Predominating  Nationalities  in 
Groups.”  The  “original”  and  “at  present”  captions  are  again 
in  contrast.  The  “original”  means  the  predominating  na- 
tionality of  the  group  when  it  seemed  to  have  been  first  recog- 
nized as  a group.  The  table  indicates  a gain  for  the  German 
and  Scandinavian  groupings  as  would  be  expected,  with  a de- 
cided loss  in  those  of  Great  Britain  and  the  New  England  or 
eastern  American  stock.  Many  of  these  latter  fall  at  present 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


25 


into  the  “mixed”  class.  Nationality,  then  has  a real  place 
in  the  formation  of  the  rural  primary  groups  or  settlements 
and  this  influence  when  combined  with  the  factor  of  topo- 
graphy and  original  vegetation  has  been  greatly  increased. 
There  is  an  accumulation  of  influence  when  these  are  com- 
bined with  religion. 

Table  IV. — Nationalities  of  Rural  Dane  County — Distribution  By 
Townships  for  Years  1895-1905 


County  of  birth  and  years 


Township 

France 

Germany 

Great 

Britain 

Ireland 

Scandin- 

avia 

Switzer- 

land 

189C 

1905 

1895 

1905 

1895 

1905 

1895 

1905 

1895 

1905 

1895 

1905 

Total  

99 

57 

4.037 

3,028 

757 

498 

706 

511 

5,886 

4,699 

10 

344 

Albion  

1 

0 

45 

36 

51 

41 

12 

6 

275 

223 

0 

, 

Berry  _ 

0 

0 

216 

117 

5 

3 

0 

0 

6 

4 

0 

1 

Black  Earth 

0 

0 

26 

29 

60 

30 

18 

20 

0 

52 

0 

€ 

Blooming  G'rove  

0 

3 

127 

157 

2 

8 

9 

13 

86 

118 

0 

9 

Blue  Mounds  _ _ : ... 

0 

0 

74 

45 

13 

12 

18 

11 

326 

155 

0 

31 

Bristol  __ 

3 

0 

156 

125 

1 

2 

4 

3 

113 

93 

0 

0 

Burke  

0 

0 

115 

74 

11 

7 

16 

8 

226 

196 

0 

5 

Christiana  _ 

0 

0 

32 

18 

10 

11 

1 

1 

857 

641 

0 

0 

Cottage  Grove 

0 

0 

84 

57 

13 

3 

32 

15 

213 

174 

0 

5 

Cross  Plains  . 

0 

0 

189 

135 

17 

4 

32 

21 

9 

0 

0 

2 

Dane  _ 

1 

0 

| 190 

116 

15 

5 

0 

6 

65 

i 8 

0 

0 

Deerfield  _ 

0 

0 

196 

154 

12 

10 

9 

2 

322 

154 

0 

2 

Dunkirk 

0 

0 

14 

9 

29 

13 

42 

22 

466 

317 

0 

0 

Dnnn 

0 

0 

19 

17 

20 

14 

11 

3 

265 

240 

0 

1 

Fitchburg  __  

0 

0 

33 

43 

20 

25 

58 

39 

55 

50 

0 

3 

Madison 

1 

1 

116 

108 

45 

44 

29 

19 

42 

37 

0 

6 

Mazomanie  

1 

0 

( 146 

122 

89 

61 

33 

32 

7 

4 

10 

4 

Medina*  _ _ __ 

0 

0 

1 290 

208 

31 

24 

21 

17 

31 

21 

0 

1 

Middleton  _ 

0 

0 

389 

290 

31 

12 

16 

4 

0 

6 

0 

0 

Montrose  _ . 

65 

36 

60 

49 

36 

15 

, 23 

16 

53 

27 

0 

62 

Oregon  __  . 

7 

11 

18 

18 

19 

33 

55 

46 

119 

130 

0 

2 

Perry  __ 

0 

0 

21 

12 

0 

0 

0 

0 

276 

240 

0 

41 

Primrose  

3 

1 

8 

6 

3 

4 

9 

5 

164 

115 

0 

57 

Pleasant  Springs 

0 

0 

2 

8 

6 

1 

1 

0 

488 

471 

0 

0 

Roxbury 

0 

0 

194 

119 

1 

1 

5 

3 

1 

1 

0 

2 

Rutland 

0 

0 

12 

2 

33 

21 

13 

18 

309 

294 

0 

0 

Springdale  - 

0 

0 

37 

32 

15 

9 

14 

11 

168 

95 

0 

54 

Springfield  __  

0 

0 

222 

137 

3 

0 

1 

1 

1 

5 

0 

0 

Sun  Prairie  _ - 

1 

1 

228 

163 

16 

10 

36 

33 

170 

45 

0 

2 

Verona  

3 

0 

120 

143 

50 

22 

20 

30 

7 

73 

0 

25 

Vermont  _ 

0 

0 

43 

9 

6 

0 

38 

19 

151 

100 

0 

12 

Vienna 

0 

0 

80 

58 

28 

9 

4 

1 

245 

184 

0 

3 

West  Port  __ 

12 

4 

230 

147 

37 

26 

109 

73 

110 

139 

0 

14 

Windsor  

1 

0 

147 

122 

17 

10 

9 

8 

260 

287 

0 

0 

York  

0 

0 

158 

143 

12 

8 

8 

5 

, o 

0 

0 

0 

The  Religious  Factor.  Nationality  and  religion  seem  to 
have  been  rather  closely  related  in  their  influence  upon  the 
social  groupings  of  the  rural  people  of  the  county.  If  one 
were  to  attempt  to  analyze  the  one  from  the  other,  it  might  be 
said  that  early  the  nationality  bond  seemed  the  stronger  but 


26 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


Table  Y. — Predominating  Nationalities  In  Groups 


Total  1 Eastern 

Western 

Nationality 

Origin- 

ally 

At  Origin 

present  j ally 

At 

present 

Origin- 

ally 

At 

present 

Danish - 

2 

2 ! 1 

1 

1 

1 

Erpnrti 

1 

1 ; 

1 

1 

German  _ 

20 

12 

23  8 

7 

12 

16 

Gr^at-  Britain 

6 

Trish  _ 

7 

2 3 

“1 

4 

1 

New  England 
Scandinavian 

and  old  American  stock— 

49 

3 27 

3 

22 

18 

26  6 

13 

12 

"Li 

Sontph 

3 

3 

Mivprl 

9 

64  5 

31 

4 

33 

as  soon  as  the  settlement  had  been  effected  the  matter  of  a church 
as  a local  institution  for  the  expression  of  the  religious  life 
was  considered.  To  be  sure  in  many  cases  it  came  very  close 
upon  the  settlement  and  many  times  there  was  religious  group 
expression  before  buildings  for  the  purpose  were  erected.  At 
present,  however,  the  religious  bond  seems  the  stronger.  In 
our  analysis  of  the  factors  creating  and  holding  the  groups  as 
shown  by  Table  III,  mention  was  made  of  this  alteration. 
Many  forces  have  been  at  work  of  late  battering  away  at  the 
nationality  bonds  while  the  religious  have  gone  on  crystaliz- 
ing.  Some  twenty  different  church  groups  having  direct  rural 
influence  and  constituency  were  found  in  the  county.  The 
percentage  of  the  six  largest,  for  1916,  ran  as  follows:  Cath- 

olic, 40;  Lutheran  (Norwegian),  25;  Lutheran  (Synodical, 
synods  of  Iowa  and  Ohio,  representing  largely  the  German 
bodies),  9;  Methodist  Episcopal,  8;  Congregational,  5 ; Presby- 
terian, 4;  Others,  9.9 

This  report  is  made  on  the  basis  of  “Communicant”  mem- 
bers in  such  a way  as  to  make  the  comparison  as  fair  as  pos- 
sible, since  different  groups  have  different  systems  of  recording 
memberships.  This  ranking  of  the  various  groups  has  not 
changed  so  far  as  may  be  judged  from  the  data  gathered  by 
extended  visiting  of  local  ministers  and  priests  and  by  con- 
sultation of  the  year  books  and  conference  reports.  This 
county  rating  shows  a slight  change  from  that  of  the  state  as 
a whole,  for  the  same  year,  and  this  state  relationship  had  not 
changed  since  1890  as  shown  by  the  United  States  census  re- 


9 Religious  Bodies.  U.  S.  Census  Report,  1916,  Part  I,  pp.  327-328. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


27 


ports:  Catholic,  51;  Lutheran  (Synodical  and  others  largely 

German),  18;  Lutheran  (Norwegian),  6;  Methodist  Episcopal, 
6;  Congregational,  3;  Presbyterian,  2;  others,  14. 

Evidence  of  the  work  of  this  religious  factor  in  the  forma- 
tion and  maintenance  of  these  rural  groups  is  present  every- 
where. Perhaps  in  the  valley  region  its  influence  when  in 
league  with  nationality  and  physical  character  of  the  country, 
is  most  noticeable.  In  talking  of  the  neighboring  groups, 
local  people  frequently  speak  of  their  group  in  the  school 
geography  phraseology,  namely,  that  they  are  bounded  on  the 
west  by  Norwegian  Lutherans,  on  the  south  by  German  Cath- 
olics and  on  the  east  by  German  Lutherans. 

A very  fine  story  could  be  written  telling  of  the  influence 
of  certain  of  the  church  leaders  who  have  given  so  much  to 
make  the  group  life  of  their  people  what  they  believe  it  should 
be. 

The  Educational  Factor.  In  somewhat  the  same  way  as  the 
religious  factor  has  come  to  be  of  increased  importance  in  the 
life  of  the  groups,  so  the  educational  purpose  has  moved  for- 
ward. In  the  classification  of  the  factors  in  Table  III,  the 
educational  comes  as  a strong  second  in  the  “at  present”  classi- 
fication. The  history  of  the  district  school  in  its  influence 
upon  the  life  of  the  rural  peoples  surely  does  not  need  to  be 
rewritten  here.  The  district  school  is  distinctly  the  institu- 
tion of  the  rural  neighborhood  group.  Its  boundaries  many 
times  have  been  laid  out  distinctly  taking  into  account  the 
social  grouping  lines.  Accessibility  for  the  child  has  also 
been  an  important  consideration  in  the  location  of  the  build- 
ing, thus  the  physical  aspects  of  the  country  are  the  deter- 
miners. Superintendent  Ames  of  the  eastern  Dane  county, 
tells  the  story  of  how  his  home  district  in  Pleasant  Springs 
township  was  changed  when  he  was  a school  boy,  in  order  to 
conform  to  social  lines  which  in  this  case  were  emphasized 
by  the  nationality  consideration.  It  would  require  a study 
of  a different  character  than  this  to  discover  to  what  extent 
this  tendency  prevailed  in  the  laying  out  and  in  the  redis- 
tricting of  the  rural  schools.  Only  a glance  at  the  -map,  Fig- 
ure 13  in  a following  chapter,  will  be  necessary  to  show  the 
close  relation  between  the  district  and  the  neighborhood 


28 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


boundaries  and  to  indicate  that  the  social  groupings  must 
have  had  some  influence  in  order  to  produce  such  seemingly 
unreasonable  irregularities. 

The  story  constantly  came,  as  the  older  settlers  of  the 
groups  were  visited,  as  to  how  the  neighborhoods  built  the 
first  school  houses  many  times  out  of  logs ; how  the  older  boys 
went  to  school  in  the  winter  time ; How  the  families  used  to 
get  together  for  spelling  matches  and  parties  and  how  some 
respected  man  or  woman  of  the  locality  taught  the  school  and 
led  the  life  and  thought  of  the  whole  group.  This  factor  in  its 
present  tendencies  will  also  be  given  further  attention  in  a 
later  chapter. 

The  Social  Factor.  Probably  less  tangible  and  less  easy  to 
observe  in  its  various  influences  upon  the  origin  of  the  rural 
groups,  is  the  social  factor.  Under  this  heading  may  properly 
come  the  influence  of  family  leadership  and  hospitality,  group 
sociability  and  neighborliness,  social  centers  of  various  char- 
acter and  including  organized  or  unorganized  sports  and  recre- 
ations. The  classification  of  this  factor  in  Table  III  shows 
it  a strong  secondary  and  supplementary  influence  since  in  the 
secondary  column  it  ranks  as  an  easy  second. 

Some  one  has  recently  said  that  the  “social  community 
movement”  is  just  beginning  to  make  its  way  into  rural  so- 
ciety. It  depends  of  course  upon  definition  and  interpretation, 
but  if  reliance  can  be  placed  at  all  upon  the  stories  given  over 
and  over  again,  out  in  these  neighborhoods  themselves,  the 
people  who  made  these  groups  50  years  ago  surely  knew  what 
it  was  to  have  a group  social  life.  Contacts  were  less  widely 
extended,  to  be  sure,  but  those  at  hand  were  made  more  inti- 
mate and  more  dominating  in  their  influence.  The  sociological 
concept  “association”  was  in  operation  in  the  very  real  sense 
of  the  word.  The  group  bonds  were  strong  of  necessity  be- 
cause of  the  type  of  life  which  the  settlers  led.  There  was 
the  visiting  of  neighbors.  Complaint  was  often  heard  that  now 
with  the  good  roads  and  automobile,  less  “neighboring”  was 
done.  “The  young  people  go  miles  away,”  some  one  said, 
“but  fail  to  get  well  acquainted  with  those  near  by.”  Rapid 
change  is  going  on  in  some  of  these  rural  groups ; the  change 
is  sometimes  mistaken  for  a complete  lack  of  the  social  char- 
acteristic sought. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


29 


The  role  of  a leading  family  or  group  of  families  is  easily 
seen.  Table  No.  VI,  “Source  of  Group  Names,”  is  one  clear 
evidence  of  this  family  leadership,  for  nearly  30  per  cent  of 
the  names  are  family  names.  The  natural  phenomena  as  river, 
valley  and  the  like  exceed  it  only  slightly. 

A social  center  of  some  character  was  often  the  expression 
of  this  social  factor  transformed  into  an  institution.  Travel 
was  difficult  and  distances  were  so  great  that  road  houses, 
taverns,  or  inns,  sprang  up  along  the  way,  and  they  served 
also  for  the  social  center  of  the  local  group.  Oak  Hall,  Eagle 
Point,  Lakeview,  Halfway  Prairie,  Springfield  Corners  are 
groups  where  this  factor  was  early  of  importance.  Many 
times  combined  with  this  feature  was  the  little  store  or  trad- 
ing post  and  the  saloon.  That  the  saloon  was  a social  institu- 
tion of  real  significance  and  many  times  not  entirely  of  a dis- 
reputable character,  cannot  be  doubted  when  the  early  his- 
tories of  some  of  these  groups,  particularly  the  German  groups, 
are  heard. 

The  Grange  was  an  early  social  institution  and  center  also 
with  its  economic  activities.  Its  influence  was  clearly  to  be 
detected,  though  it  has  long  since  ceased  its  work,  at  what  is 
now  called  Vilas,  but  formerly  Cottage  Grove,  at  South  Bris- 
tol, Burk  Station,  Paoli,  and  Acorn. 

The  Independent  Order  of  Good  Templars  (I.  O.  G.  T.) 
played  a part  in  social  life  of  the  country  at  such  places,  for 
example  as  Ashton,  Montrose  and  Rockdale  or  Clinton,  as  it 
was  formerly  called.  It  was  this  association  which  not  only 
changed  the  name  of  the  latter  settlement,  but  changed  its 
rermtation  from  that  of  a distillery  to  a temcerance  center. 

Source  of  Group  Names.  Table  VI  is  drawn  to  present 
the  sources  of  the  names  of  the  groups.  This  does  not  have 
far-reaching  significance  but  does  go  to  show  to  some  extent 
how  the  various  factors  have  had  their  influence  in  this  group 
formation.  As  the  base  map  easily  indicates,  the  major  source 
was  the  natural  phenomena,  such  as  hills,  valleys,  streams, 
prairies,  corners,  ridges,  lakes,  and  groves.  The  family  names 
come  second.  The  name  of  the  place  of  former  residence, 
whether  in  the  United  States  or  forign  countries,  is  the  third 
source,  when  it  is  taken  into  account  that  almost  without  ex- 
ception, the  township  names  from  which  15  group  names  were 


30 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


drawn  were  taken  from  places  of  former  residence.  Rutland 
from  Vermont,  Roxbury  and  Vienna  from  New  York,  Mont- 
rose from  Pennsylvania,  Medina  from  Ohio  are  but  a few  ex- 
amples. Christiana  and  Westport  are  of  course  examples  of 
the  imported  name. 

Table  VI. — Source  of  Group  Names 


Name  of  source 

Total 

Eastern 

Western 

Accident  

6 1 

3 

„ 3 

Frnnnmin  institution 

1 

1 

Educational  institution  _ 

3 

2 

1 

Family  name  __  --  

32 

15 

17 

Former  resident  _ _ _ - 

8 

3 

5 

Nationilitv  

8 

1 

7 

Natural  phenomenon  __  - - _ _ . 

39 

17 

22 

Post  office  _ 

4 

2 

2 

Social  institution  

5 

3 

2 

Township - 

15 

9 

6 

Rural  Primary  Groups 


31 


PART  III. 

GROUP  CHANGES  AND  PROCESSES 

Society  in  never  a fixed  or  static  thing  and  rural  society  is 
no  exception.  Even  as  one  would  describe  and  map  these 
rural  groups,  changes  appear  and  differing  characteristics  man- 
ifest themselves.  These  movements  and  changes  seem  espe- 
cially active  and  transitional  just  at  the  present  time. 


Table  VII. — Groups  Classified  on  Basis  of  Change 


Division  of  county 

Not 

changed 

Changed  completely 

In  process  of  change 

Recent  Recent  dis- 
appearance appearance 

Increasing 

Decreasing 

Total  

18 

4 26 

16 

54 

Eastern  __  __ 

4 

2 12 

S 

30 

Western  _ _ 

14 

2 14 

8 i 

27 

Group  Changes.  In  order  to  catch  something  of  a moving 
picture  of  these  group  changes,  Table  VII  was  drawn  up 
under  the  headings,  “Not  Changed,”  “Changed  Completely,” 
and  “In  Process  of  Change.”  Under  the  “Changed  Complete- 
ly,” the  captions  compare  the  number  of  groups  which  have 
appeared  recently  with  those  which  have  disappeared.  Bv 
disappearance  it  is  not  meant  that  boundaries  are  entirely 
wiped  out,  but  it  corresponds  to  those  classified  under  “Lack 
of  Any  Factor”  in  the  tabulations  contained  in  Table  I.  By 
the  “Increasing”  or  “Decreasing”  under  the  heading  of  “In 
Process  of  Change”  is  meant  not  necessarily  the  size  of  the 
group  either  geographically  or  numerically,  though  these  are 
usually  accompanying  circumstances,  but  the  vitality  and 
solidarity  of  the  group  life  itself.  This  does  not  refer  to  ac- 
tivities, social,  economic,  or  religious,  of  the  individuals  within 
the  group  but  it  means  the  changes  in  the  group  as  such. 


32 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


The  total  number  classified  as  “Not  Changed”  is  18  and  of 
these  14  appear  in  the  western  section.  It  will  help  a good 
deal  at  this  point  to  look  back  at  the  maps  shown  under  Fig- 
ures 4 and  5 representing  the  early  groups  as  compared  with 
those  for  which  present  boundaries  were  secured.  Shadings 
designate  groups  as  “going  concerns”  or  which  are  actually 
functioning.  Down  in  the  southwestern  section  it  seems  that 
the  hills  and  valleys  have  conspired  with  the  nationality  of 
the  peoples  and  with  their  religious  life  and  institutions  to  pre- 
vent the  inroads  of  change.  This  is  not  to  be  construed  to 
mean  that  the  people  are  necessarily  backward  or  non-progres- 
sive or  that  they  are  entirely  isolated  from  the  affairs  of  the 
world,  or  even  from  the  life  of  the  larger  communities  of  which 
they  are  a recognized  part,  but  it  does  mean  their  group  life 
has  been  preserved  as  changes  have  come  and  gone  both  within 
and  without.  Although  it  can  be  said  from  very  intimate  and 
personal  experience  that  the  Primrose  hills  in  wet  weather 
are  real  problems  in  accessibility,  yet  it  hardly  can  be  con- 
cluded that  this  is  the  final  answer.  It  is  rather  the  combina- 
tion of  the  three  factors  already  referred  to  and  with  it  comes 
the  lack  of  mobility  of  the  people  which  is  so  easily  seen  as  a 
condition  of  change  in  the  other  parts  of  the  country. 

The  groups  are  not  on  the  increase  for  only  four  come  under 
the  “Recent  Appearance”  class  and  these  are  such  as  have  ac- 
quired a group  consciousness  of  their  own  while  still  within  a 
larger  and  expanding  group.  Christiana  Center  within  the 
East  Koshkonong  group  and  Ford  Valley  within  the  Spring- 
dale  group  are  examples  of  this  condition. 

It  appears  that  many  neighborhoods  are  losing  their  iden- 
tity, for  26  are  classed  as  disappeared,  and  they  are  uniformly 
distributed  between  the  east  and  west  sections.  As  suggested 
before  this  does  not  mean  that  they  do  not  appear  on  the  base 
maps  but  that  they  are  groups  only  in  name  and  are  without 
social  significance.  Probably  the  Oregon  village  trade  area 
is  the  best  example  of  this  situation.  Although  a half  dozen 
of  the  groups  within  the  area  are  shaded  on  Figures  3 and  4 
to  indicate  present  activity,  yet  this  activity  without  excep- 
tion centers  in  the  school  and  is  distinctly  different  and  more 
restricted  from  the  original  purpose  of  the  groups.  In  other 
words,  with  the  exception  of  the  educational  function  twelve 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


33 


groups  have  changed  in  original  purpose.  This  does  not  mean 
that  all  local  consciousness  is  gone  or  that  the  grouping  is 
entirely  to  no  purpose  but  it  does  mean  that  the  strong  bonds 
of  religion,  sociability,  and  co-operative  effort  are  focused  not 
locally  but  at  the  general  center,  Oregon. 

If  the  group  life  of  those  classified  under  “Changed  Com- 
pletely” were  further  to  be  analyzed,  the  number  would  have 
to  be  greatly  extended.  For  example,  if  the  educational  pur- 
pose were  to  be  exempted,  about  25  more  would  have  to  be 
added  as  having  none  of  the  original  functions  left  save  this 
of  education.  And  if  the  economic  as  represented  by  a small 
inland  trading  center  were  to  be  exempted,  another  half  dozen 
would  have  to  be  added.  This  would  make  the  total  very  near 
to  the  50  per  cent  mark  of  all  the  121  groups  which  are  mapped. 

The  story  is  also  clear  under  the  classification  “In  Process 
of  Change.”  Here  16  are  shown  to  be  increasing  in  solidarity 
and  extent  and  54  decreasing.  The  western  section  shows 
the  tendency  slightly  less  than  the  eastern.  In  a word,  the 
groups  are  getting  larger  and  fewer  in  number.  In  some 
cases  it  is  a rural  group  expanding,  as  for  example  in  the  cases 
of  Liberty  Prairie,  Ashton,  Daleyville,  and  in  many  more 
cases,  it  is  a matter  of  expansion  of  the  village  groups  which 
are  not  shown  on  the  base  maps  excepting  by  a uniform  lack 
of  strictly  open  country  groupings  around  the  villages.  Here 
again  the  caution  must  be  interposed  that  it  does  not  have  to 
follow  that  rural  society  should  no  longer  be  thought  of  as  in 
social  groups  but  it  indicates  that  its  groupings  are  changing. 

Group  Processes.  Under  this  caption  it  is  not  the  purpose 
to  enter  into  a discussion  which  would  quickly  involve  many 
debated  points  of  theory,  but  simply  to  calalogue  in  a brief 
way  certain  processes  in  the  lives  of  the  groups  under  con- 
sideration, which  have  been  observed.  By  group  process  is 
meant  that  “give-and-take”  which  goes  within  a group  as  it 
works  out  some  sort  of  unity.  Such  a product,  like  the  results 
of  a committee  meeting,  is  not  a composite,  or  summation,  of 
the  various  notions  of  the  members  of  the  group  or  committee : 
it  is  something  new  and  different.  It  is  a group  or  social 
product.  As  has  been  stated  repeatedly,  these  groups  are 
changing  things  and  it  is  the  process  behind  these  changes 
which  should  be  brought  into  as  much  relief  as  possible. 


34 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


The  first  process  may  be  called  integration.  Adaptation  is  go- 
ing on  within  the  group  as  it  works  for  this  group  unity.  This 
adaptation  will  include  both  association  and  conflict.  In  tell- 
ing the  story  of  Halfway  Prairie,  Mr.  Seston,  whose  memory 
goes  back  to  the  time  when  Marxville  marked  the  boundary 
line  between  the  British  Temperance  Emigration  Association 
settlers  on  the  east  and  the  German  group  moving  on  toward  the 
west,  said  that  they  got  along  very  well  with  those  German  settlers 
for  a long  time.  Of  course  there  were  differences  between 
them  and  they  had  different  ideas  about  a number  of  things, 
but  for  the  sake  of  the  whole  community  and  for  the  sake  of 
township  government  which  they  were  trying  to  perfect,  real 
unity  was  secured  and  a group  solidarity  resulted.  This  in- 
tegration process,  however,  finally  passed  over  into  a disin- 
tegrating one  since  Mr.  Seston  suggested  that  when  the  Ger- 
mans insisted  upon  opening  a saloon  at  the  “Corners”— al- 
though repeatedly  warned  in  a friendly  way  and  later  having 
several  consignments  of  liquor  confiscated  at  night  time— they 
(The  English  Temperance  Association)  decided  it  was  time  to 
form  a neighborhood  of  their  own. 

Another  integrating  process  now  under  way  is  represented 
by  the  local  effects  of  the  recent  national  union  of  two  synods 
of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  church.  An  institutional  map 
would  show  in  many  cases  that  where  there  is  one  Norwegian 
Lutheran  church,  there  is  also  a second.  The  national  union 
created  a situation  which  the  local  groups  must  settle  for 
themselves.  In  Daleyville  one  of  the  churches  is  closed  and 
every  indication  points  to  the  achievement  of  unity.  In  Prim- 
rose one  church  is  closed  but  the  unity  is  still  in  the  making. 
In  both  East  and  West  Koshkonong  both  churches  are  still 
in  use,  each  served  by  different  pastors,  yet  for  certain  pur- 
poses the  Koshkonongs  “East”  and  “West”  as  they  are  called, 
are  neighborhoods  with  a group  unity  in  the  true  sense. 

In  the  village  of  Waunakee  a lumber  and  feed  dealer  talked 
freely  about  working  out  a co-operative  scheme  with  a certain 
farmers’  organization.  He  said  that  they  as  village  men. 
were  willing  to  work  with  the  farmers,  that  is,  he  added, 
“when  the  farmers  are  willing  to  do  the  fair  thing.”  The 
same  story  from  the  angle  of  the  farmer  was  heard  over  and 
over.  This  group  life,  then,  is  not  an  accident,  it  is  an  achieve- 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


35 


ment.  It  comes  as  a reaction  from  likeness  and  from  differ 
ences,  from  association  and  from  conflict. 

Second,  there  is  disintegration.  Many  factors  enter  into  this 
process  and  are  not  easily  isolated.  For  example,  Pierceville. 
once  an  active  and  vigorous  group,  is  now  largely  a memory. 

Among  the  disintegrating  forces  are  the  absence  of  young 
people,  and  the  coming  in  of  German  Bohemian  settlers, 
largely  Catholic  and  dominated  from  Sun  Prairie  instead  of 
from  Pierceville  as  was  the  case  with  the  group  here  formerly. 
Certain  difficulties  at  the  state  headquarters  of  the  American 
Society  of  Equity  caused  trouble  locally.  There  is  a woman’s 
club  on  paper  but  the  leadership  is  said  to  be  self-appointed 
and  unwelcomed.  George  Mitchell,  a prominent  farmer  and 
descendent  of  the  early  group,  as  well  as  formerly  president  of 
the  local  Equity,  said  that  they  had  given  up  trying  to  keep 
alive  the  neighborhood  club  which  had  been  such  a force  some 
five  years  before.  A story  not  so  different  in  its  essentials 
could  be  told  for  Kroghville,  Deansville,  Frenchtown,  Mc- 
Pherson Valley,  Pennsylvania  Avenue  and  Token  Creek.  The 
changes  were  too  sweeping.  Adaptations  could  not  keep  up. 
Disintegration  had  its  way. 

A third  process  worthy  of  attention  is  realignment.  In  a sense 
this  might  be  considered  an  integrating  process  but  in  a dis- 
tinctive sense  it  is  a complete  revamping  in  order  to  meet 
changing  conditions  and  still  to  keep  a group  solidarity  even 
though  of  a changed  character.  Probably  as  good  an  example 
of  this  as  can  be  found  is  that  of  Windsor.  This  group  ap- 
pears on  the  historic  map  as  a strictly  open  country  settlement 
but  on  the  present  base  map  as  the  area  around  the  small 
center  of  Windsor  village.  The  early  neighborhood  extended 
from  the  present  location  of  the  village  toward  the  north  and 
east.  The  settlers  came  from  New  England,  Vermont  and 
Ohio.  Among  them  were  such  names  as  Saben,  Warner,  Vin- 
cent, and  Harvey.  At  present  the  population  is  of  fairly 
mixed  character.  Germans  and  Norwegians  have  come  in. 
The  center  has  a store  or  two  and  a rural  Congregational 
church.  The  pastor  lives  out  in  the  country  to  the  east  of  the 
village.  There  is  also  a graded  school  and  cemetery  on  the 
east  road  out  of  the  village.  The  church  is  very  active  and 
seems  to  assimilate  the  new  residents  while  still  preserving 


36 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


much  of  the  old  spirit  which  it  had  when  organized  by  the 
earlier  settlers.  Mr.  C.  J.  Dodge,  manager  of  the  local  cream- 
ery and  living  to  the  east  of  the  village,  reports  that  on  his 
patron  lists  there  is  scarcely  a name  which  was  there  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  yet  the  work  goes  on  in  a satisfactory  manner. 
He  speaks  with  enthusiasm  of  the  community  as  it  now  is  and 
especially  of  the  church,  for  he  says  that  it  is  able  to  adapt  it- 
self to  the  changing  needs  of  the  people,  whatever  their  na- 
tionality or  previous  religious  affiliations. 

One  more  case  of  a slightly  different  character  is  that  of 
Hildreth  school  in  what  was  formerly  known  as  the  Bass  Lake 
neighborhood.  An  organization  to  meet  the  changed  char- 
acter of  the  local  groups  was  set  in  motion.  Social  affairs  and 
plays  have  been  arranged  in  which  the  young  people  of  the 
surrounding  country  take  an  active  part.  They  come  from 
where  the  old  Starr  neighborhood  used  to  be  and  from  what 
was  early  known  as  Vermont  Settlement.  The  nationality  is  Nor- 
wegian throughout  so  there  are  no  lines  to  cross  on  that  score. 
The  people  of  these  neighboring  districts  moreover  are  nearer 
to  the  new  center  in  time  than  were  the  early  settlers  to  their 
respective  centers  because  of  the  improved  transportation 
service,  better  roads,  and  the  automobile. 

Group  processes,  then,  which  tend  toward  group  unity,  are 
those  which  arise  from  activity  directed  in  the  line  of  meeting 
conditions  as  they  are,  of  capitalizing  the  common  interests, 
and  of  integrating  the  differences,  but  not  attempting  to  elim- 
inate them. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


37 


PART  IV. 

FUNCTION,  STRUCTURE,  FORM 

The  present  day  purposes  and  activities  of  these  rural  pri- 
mary groups,  the  methods  by  which  their  activities  are  carried 
on,  as  well  as  their  relation  to  other  forms  of  organized  social 
endeavor,  are  of  prime  importance  in  the  whole  problem  of  rural 
organization.  Each  of  these  groups  will  be  examined  therefore, 
as  to  its  function,  structure  and  form. 

By  function  is  meant  the  task  or  purpose  toward  which  the 
group  directs  its  effort.  There  is  work  to  do,  there  are  needs 
and  interests  to  satisfy.  Activity  centers  about  these  interests. 
By  structure  is  meant  nothing  more  than  the  system  or  or- 
ganized methods  by  which  the  group  does  its  work.  It  is  the 
scheme  of  correlations  by  which  members  of  the  group  are  or- 
dered for  the  sake  of  carrying  out  the  group  purposes  or  func- 
tions. This  does  not  mean,  of  course,  that  the  functions  and 
structures  are  always  in  harmony.  Indeed,  the  system — the 
structure — may  so  get  in  the  way  of  the  accomplishment  of  the 
desired  functions,  that  a veritable  revolution  is  required  to  dis- 
lodge it.  Finally,  by  form  is  meant  the  shape  or  figure  which  the 
group  takes  as  measured  or  described  in  terms  of  recognized  geo- 
graphic areas  such  as  township,  school  district  or  trade  area. 

Function.  The  purposes  or  functions  of  the  groups  demand 
not  only  common  work  and  effort  but  also  specialized  activity, 
for  although  a group  may  have  the  religious  or  the  social  as  its 
primary  group  purpose,  yet  its  members  must  eat  and  be 
clothed.  When  certain  functions  are  listed,  therefore,  as  pri- 
mary or  secondary,  it  in  no  sense  exhausts  the  possibilities;  it 
rather  points  to  what  appears  to  be  the  central  bond  and  com- 
pelling interest  which  is  consciously  keeping  the  group  going  as 
a group.  In  order  to  make  possible  both  general  reference  to 
the  county  as  a whole  and  to  each  group  in  particular,  the 
classification  of  the  functions  for  each  group  was  made  and  is 
summarized  under  the  table  numbered  VIII.  These  “primaries'’’ 
and  “secondaries”,  arc  then  totaled  separately  at-  the  top. 


38 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


Table  VIII. — Groups  Classified  on  Basis  of  Functions 


Functions  of  groups,  primary  and  secondary 


Division  of  county 

; Kinship 

Eco-  Educa-  i con- 
nomic  1 tional  scious- 
ness 

Local 

govern- 

ment 

1 

Nation- 
| ality 
solid- 
arity 

Religi- 

ous 

Social 

Non- 

func- 

tional 

Pri. 

Sec.Pri. 

Sec.  Pri. 

IS-ec 

Pri. 

Sec. 

Pri. 

Sec. 

Pri. 

Sec. 

Pri. 

Sec. 

Total  

16 

5 31 

8 3 

ll 

0 

0 

4 

30 

. 32 

5 

9 

‘ 24 

26 

Eastern  

10 

2 13 

4 1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

14 

15 

2 

4 

12 

12 

Western  _ _ 

6 

3 18 

4 2 

1 

0 

0 

1 

16 

17 

3 

1 

5 

12 

14 

The  economic  function  shows  a total  of  16  primary  and  5 
secondary  counts.  The  eastern  part  shows  a rather  predomi- 
nating share  of  these  primary  factors  with  a total  of  11  counts. 
About  four  or  five  of  these  are  creamery  or  co-operative  asso- 
ciation centers.  The  others  are  small  trading  centers.  The 
latter  group  does  not  possess  great  vitality  as  commanding  the 
interests  of  the  group  as  such.  In  the  west  and  southwest  there 
are  a great  many  more  creameries  and  cheese  factories  but  their 
location  or  influence  is  not  distinctive. 

In  order  to  attempt  a further  analysis  of  this  economic  func- 
tion in  its  possible  relation  to  the  groupings,  whether  neighbor- 
hood or  non-neighborhood,  an  extended  analysis  of  about  1400 
families  and  farms  selected  from  the  eastern  part  of  the  county, 
was  made.  The  purpose  was  to  find  out  the  possible  influence 
of  group  life  on  the  various  elements  compared.  The  first  table 
drawn,  number  IX,  brings  in  comparison  in  the  order  named, 
number  of  children  per  family,  ownership,  size  of  farm  in 
acres,  and  neighborhood  or  non-neighborhood  grouping.10  Per- 
centages and  averages  could  not  well  be  included  in  the  one 
table,  therefore  the  size  of  farm  and  occupancy  were  separated 
out  into  Table  X.  This  latter  table  would  appear  to  indicate  a 
small  tendency  to  larger  farms  in  neighborhood  than  in  non- 
neighborhood areas  and  with  it  also  a similar  tendency  to  larger 
number  of  tenants  on  the  small  farms  outside  the  neighborhood. 
Tenancy  is  very  small  on  the  large  holdings.  There  are  no 

10  The  family  question  cards  were  checked  with  a Rural  Directory  for 
Dane  county,  published  by  the  Farm  Journal  for  1918.  The  number 
represents  a fair  statistical  sample. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


39 


Table  IX. — Number  of  Children  and  Size  of  Farms  of  Owner  and 
Tenant  Families  In  Neighborhood  and  Non-Neighborhood  Areas 


Size  of  farm  in  acres 


All  farms 


Under  59 


60-119 


120-179 


180-239 


Neighborhood  and  non-neighborhood, 
owner  and  tenant  families 


Number 

of 

children 

per 

family 

Neighborhood 

Non-neighborhood 

0 wner 

Tenant 

Owner 

Tenant 

Total 

■ 

416 

119 

630 

237 

0 

55 

24 

95 

55 

1 

43 

23 

77 

49 

> 

85 

28 

105 

31 

'] 

56 

13 

95 

39 

i 

52 

8 

66 

20 

5 

39 

6 

71 

17 

) and  over 

86 

17 

121 

26 

Total 

76 

18 

137 

40 

0 

15 

3 

28 

11 

1 

14 

3 

14 

5 

2 

15 

3 

20 

2 

3 

9 

2 

17 

10 

4 

11 

5 

17 

5 

5 

5 

1 

16 

1 

8 and  over 

7 

1 

25 

6 

Total 

169 

50 

267 

90 

0 

22 

9 

33 

21 

1 

13 

10 

36 

[ 22 

2 

44 

13 

60 

i 14 

> 

28 

1 6 

44 

13 

1 

13 

1 2 

18 

7 

5 

13 

3 

35 

5 

:>  and  over 

36 

7 

41 

8 

Total... 

117 

38 

162 

76 

14 

6 

24 

19 

l 

12 

7 

21 

17 

2 

15 

10 

19 

11 

3 

15 

4 

27 

10 

4 

16 

1 

21 

5 

5 

15 

2 

12 

5 

> and  over 

30  ' 

8 

38 

9 

Tctai 

' 1 

26 

10 

32 

21 

0 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 and  ovej 

1 

8 

3 

4 
4 

1 

2 

1 

0 

0 

1 

4 

4 

5 
3 

5 * 
. 3 
8 

3 

3 

3 

4 
2 
3 
3 

40 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  si 


Table  IX — Continued 


Total 

28 

3 

32 

10 

0 

3 

3 

6 

1 

240  and  over 

1 

3 

0 

2 

2 

2 

3 

0 

1 

1 

3 

1 

0 

4 

2 

4 

7 

0 

5 

1 

5 

2 

0 

5 

3 

6 and  over 

9 

0 

9 

0 

Table  X. — Size  of  Farms  of  Owners  and  Tenants  In  Neighborhood 
and  Non-Neighborhood  Areas 


Occupancy 

I 

Size  of 
farm  in 
acres 

j Percentage  and  number  of  neighbor- 
hood and  non-neighborhood  farms 

Per 

cent 

Nur 

nber 

Neigh- 

borhood 

Non- 

neigh- 

borhood 

Neigh- 

borhood 

Non- 

neigh- 

borhood 

Total 

100 

100 

535 

867 

Under  59 

17 

20 

94 

177 

Both 

60  - 119 

41 

41 

219 

357 

120  - 179 

29 

28 

155 

238 

180  - 239 

7 

6 

36 

53 

240  and  over 

6 

5 

31 

42 

Total-  — 

100 

100 

416 

630 

Owners 

Under  59 

18 

22 

76 

137 

60  - 119 

41 

42 

169 

267 

120  - 179 

28 

26 

117 

162 

180  - 239 

6 

5 

26 

32 

240  and  over 

7 

5 

28 

32 

Total 

100 

100 

119 

237 

Tenant 

Under  59 

15 

17 

18 

40 

60  - 119 

42 

38 

50 

90 

120  - 179 

32 

32 

38 

76 

180  - 239 

8 

9 

10 

21 

240  and  over 

5 

4 

3 

10 

striking  contrasts,  however,  which  would  indicate  either  size  of 
farm  or  occupancy  as  being  decidedly  characteristic  of  either 
sort  of  grouping. 

The  educational  purpose  or  function  is  very  high  in  point  of 
frequency  in  both  the  eastern  and  western  parts  of  the  county, 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


41 


having  31  primaries  and  8 secondaries.  The  reason  for  this 
should  already  be  clear  from  the  discussion  of  the  factors,  which 
have  tended  to  create  and  to  maintain  the  rural  groups.  This 
educational  function  is  one  which  has  persisted  longest  in  the 
changing  processes  of  the  smaller  and  earlier  groups.  There  were 
some  over  twenty-five  groups  which  show  this  as  their  sole 
function  with  the  exception  of  an  incidental  social  activity  in 
connection  with  the  school. 

The  kinship  consciousness  factor  exerted  its  power  as  a com- 
pelling purpose  to  a greater  extent  in  an  early  day  than  at  pres- 


Table  XI. — Number  and  Size  of  Families  Among  Owners  and  Tenants 
In  Neighborhood  and  Non-Neighborhood  Areas 


Grouping 

Number 

of 

children 

per 

family 

Number  and  size  of  owner  and  tenant 
families 

Number  of  families 

Total  number  of 
children 

Owners 

Tenants 

Owners 

Tenants 

Total 

1,046 

356 

3,534 

915 

0 

150 

79 

0 

0 

1 

120 

72 

120 

92 

Both 

2 

190 

59 

380 

118 

3 

151 

52 

453 

156 

4 

118 

28 

482 

112 

5 

110 

23 

549 

115 

6 and  over 

207 

43 

1,550 

322 

Total 

416 

119 

1,435 

330 

0 

55 

24 

0 

0 

1 

43 

23 

43 

43 

Neighborhood 

2 

85 

28 

170 

56 

3 

56 

13 

168 

39 

4 

52 

8 

218 

32 

5 

39 

6 

194 

30 

6 and  over 

86 

17 

642 

130 

Total 

630 

237 

2,099 

585 

0 

95 

55 

0 

0 

Non-neighborhood 

1 

77 

49 

77 

49 

2 

105 

31 

210 

62 

3 

95 

39 

285 

117 

4 

66 

20 

264 

80 

,■) 

71 

17 

355 

85 

6 and  over 

121 

26 

908 

192 

42 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


ent,  yet  as  a possible  third  factor  in  the  group  life  of  today,  it 
is  worthy  of  consideration. 

By  further  analysis  of  the  data  assembled  in  Table  IX  an- 
other table  was  drawn,  number  XI,  in  order  to  set  out  the  size 
of  the  families  among  owners  and  tenants  in  neighborhood  and 
non-neighborhood  areas.  There  appears  to  be  a slight  tendency 
for  more  children  in  the  neighborhood  than  the  non-neighbor- 
hood areas  but  the  difference  is  not  significant  in  size.  As  one 
would  expect  the  tenant  family  is  uniformly  smaller.  Both 
tenant  and  owners  show  heavy  numbers  in  the  two  child  per 
family  class.  In  comparing  the  size  of  family  and  size  of  farm, 
there  appears  to  be  larger  families  of  both  tenants  and  own- 
ers when  the  extremes  in  size  of  farms  are  eliminated ; that  is 
to  say,  there  are  larger  families  on  the  farms  of  the  two  classes, 
60  to  119  acres  and  120  to  179  acres. 

Table  XII. — Summary  Table  Showing  Average  Children  Per  Family 
of  Owners  and  Tenants  In  Neighborhood  and 
Non-Neighborhood  Areas 


Occupancy 

Average  number  ot 
children  per  family 

Non- 

Neigh-  neigh- 

borhood borhood 

Total  average  - 

3.3  3.1 

Owners  - — — _ _ 

Tenants  - --  

3.4  3.3 

2.8  2.5 

Another  trial  with  reference  to  the  family  was  made  in  the 
summary  table,  number  XII,  showing  the  average  children  per 
family  of  owners  and  tenants  in  neighborhood  and  non-neighbor- 
hood areas.  The  comparison  for  owners  and  tenants  is  in  favor 
of  the  owner,  3.4  compared  with  2.8  in  neighborhood  and  3.3 
compared  with  2.5  in  non-neighborhood.  For  both  owner  and 
tenant  the  neighborhood  has  a slight  advantage,  3.3  as  compared 
with  3.1  for  the  non-neighborhood. 

To  get  more  directly  at  the  kinship  influence  within  the  neigh- 
borhood itself,  the  following  question  was  asked  on  the  “family 
question  card”  in  western  Dane  county: 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


43 


“To  how  many  families  within  a distance  of  five  miles 
are  you  or  your  family  related  by  blood  or  marriage  as 
near  or  nearer  than  second  cousins  ?” 

The  results  are  shown  in  Table  XIII.  As  soon  as  the  classes 
of  related  families  pass  into  and  beyond  that  of  8 to  11  families, 
the  number  within  the  classes  shows  a rather  decided  increase 
in  favor  of  the  neighborhood  as  compared  to  the  non-neighbor- 
hood area.  In  each  of  these  classes  extending  beyond  but  in- 
cluding the  8 to  11  families  approximately  a third  more  is  found 
in  the  neighborhood  section. 

Table  XIII. — Family  Relationships  as  Near  or  Nearer  Than  Second 
Cousins  Within  Five  Mile  Radius  of  the  Home  of  Neigh- 
borhood and  Non-Neighborhood  Families 


Number  and  percentage  of  neighborhood  and 
non-neighborhood  families 


Number  of  related  families 

Per  cent 

Number 

Neighbor- 

hood 

i Non-neigh- 
! borhood 

Neighbor- 

hood 

Non-neigh- 

borhood 

Total  

100 

100 

281 

357 

Less  than  4 _ 

33.4 

44.3 

94 

158 

4-7  

28.0 

30.1 

79 

108 

8-11  

18.4 

12.0 

52 

43 

12-15 

9.2 

6.4 

26 

23 

16-19  

3.6 

2.5 

10 

9 

20  and  over  

7.1 

4.5 

20 

16 

The  kinship  function  is  clearly  predominant  in  at  least 
one  neighborhood  in  the  east  and  two  in  the  west.  This  cannot 
be  construed  to  indicate  that  the  people  set  about  deliberately 
and  consciously  to  promote  family  consciousness  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  all  else,  but  there  was  evidence  that  its  role  is  a central 
one  in  social  affairs,  group  leadership  and  marriages.  Chart  I 
is  designed  to  show  this  condition  in  the  eastern  neighborhood 
called  Betlach-Dushack.  xlThis  shows  eight  inter-related  gen- 
eral families  and  37  units  of  these  families  within  the  neighbor- 
hood and  30  units  without  the  bound  of  this  group  but  in  nearby 
groups  or  villages. 


11  The  information  regarding  the  relationships  was  secured  from  Mrs. 
Effa  Dushack  of  Sun  Prairie  and  the  number  of  families  in  relation  to 
the  area  was  secured  from  the  Rural  Directory  of  Dane  County. 


44 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


CHART  I 

RELATIONSHIPS  IN  THE  BETLACH-DUSHACK  NEIGHBOR- 
HOOD 


Family  name 
with 

lines  of  relationships 


Total 


Number  of  families  within 
neighborhoods  and 
those  nearby. 


11 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


45 


The  place  of  the  local  government  as  a function  of  group 
life  was  found  to  be  a minus  quantity.  This  is  not  to  say  that 
local  government  is  not  a function  of  the  rural  group  but  no 
group  discovered  had  this  as  its  primary  or  secondary  purpose 
or  interest.  The  nearest  approach  to  it  was  in  Springdale  town- 
ship where  a very  fine  town  hall  is  equipped  with  all  social 
facilities  as  dining-room,  auditorium  and  kitchen.  There  is  a 
township  community  club,  even,  but  all  this  is  organized  about 
the  social  rather  than  the  governmental  function. 

Nationality  solidarity  as  a group  function  is  not  strong  in  the 
primary  sense  yet  in  the  secondary  it  ranks  highest.  This  can- 
not indicate  that  the  group  deliberately  sets  about  to  achieve 
solidarity  in  this  particular  aspect  but  its  influence  is  there  and 
many  of  these  groups  are  distinctive  because  of  this  influence. 
Its  lines  are  observed  in  marriage,  in  religion  and  in  language. 

The  religious  purpose  ranks  high  as  a primary  and  low  as  a 
secondary,  having  exchanged  places,  as  was,  pointed  out  above, 
with  the  nationality  factor  when  its  original  and  present  in- 
fluences are  compared. 

The  social  function  shows  itself  to  be  a strong  factor  in  the 
secondary  sense  for  its  characteristic  is  that  of  a supplementer 
to  other  purposes  considered  of  initial  importance. 

In  the  non-functional  classification  appear  the  26  groups  which 
mustered  in  before  under  the  “lack  of  factor”  classification. 

Structure.  The  structural  relationships  are  summarized  in 
Table  XIV.  Discussions  of  each  will  be  omitted  here  to  be 
taken  up  again  under  “Forms,”  when  maps  will  be  used  to 
show  comparative  relationships.  The  structures  when  sum- 
marized in  the  order  followed  for  the  functions  above  are  as 
follows : Economic  association,  legal-education  organization, 

kinship  ties,  legal-political  organization,  nationality  bonds, 
church  congregation,  social  clubs,  and  remainder  falling  into 
the  decadent  classification.  These  structures  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  numerical  tabulations  of  those  primary  and  those 
secondary  follow  rather  closely  the  corresponding  functions. 
This  is  what  one  would  expect,  though  now  and  then  devia- 
tions are  to  be  found — when,  for  example,  the  nationality 
bonds  are  made  to  do  service  for  getting  an  educational  or  a 
social  purpose  accepted.  On  the  other  hand  there  may  be  a 


46 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


function  without  the  structure  to  make  it  effective,  or  again, 
a structure  of  a certain  character  may  make  the  function  im- 
possible of  attainment. 

Table  XIY. — Groups  Classified  on  Basis  of  Structure 


Structure  of  groups,  ; 

primary 

and 

. secondary 

Eeo-  | 

Legal- 

Legal- 

nomic 

educ. 

Kinship 

political 

Nation- 

Church 

Social 

Deca- 

Division  of  county 

associ- 
ation i 

organi- 

zation 

ties 

organi- 

zation 

ality 

bonds 

congre- 

gation 

club 

1 dent 

Pri. 

Sec. 

Pri. 

Sec. 

Pri. 

Sec 

Pri  Sec. 

Pri 

Sec. 

Pri. 

Sec. 

Pri. 

Sec. 



Total  

1-; 

5 

35 

2 

2 

2 

0 0 

2 

32 

32 

3 

10 

17 

26 

Eastern  1 

10 

2 

14 

2 

1 

0 

0 0 

0 

14 

14 

1 

5 

7I 

12 

Western i 

4 

3! 

21 

c! 

1 

2 

0 0 

2 

18 

18 

2 

5 

10 

14 

Group  Institutions.  Institutions  should  be  considered  at 
this  point  for  in  a real  sense  an  institution  is  only  the  more  or 
less  fixed  and  rigid  form  of  the  social  structure.  Table  XV 
sets  forth  in  a classified  arrangement,  the  important  local 
social  institutions  of  the  rural  groups.  The  school  leads  with 
112,  cemeteries  next  with  57,  church  and  store  tie  for  third 
place  with  47  each.  Farmers’  organizations  are  low,  although 
many,  but  not  all,  of  the  dairy  manufacturing  plants  owned 
and  operated  by  a farmers’  co-operative  association,  are  in- 
cluded. The  open  county  postoffice  now  rendered  useless  by 
the  mail  delivery  service  was  formerly  an  institution  of  rather 
unusual  importance.  It  was  a typical  group  institution  as  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  it  was  present  in  nearly  one-third  of  the 
neighborhoods. 

Some  one  is  sure  to  object  that  a cemetery  is  not  a social 
institution.  Very  many  of  them,  however,  represent  an  active 
local  cemetery  association  organized  as  an  endowed  corpora- 
tion with  trustees,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  alive  the  memor- 
ies of  dead  neighbors  and  relatives,  as  well  as  for  making 
beautiful  their  places  of  burial.  Such  associations  are  real 
social  structures  and  they  are  discharging  a worthy  function 
in  many  localities.  When  riding  along  the  country  road  and 
a cemetery  and  church  or  school,  or  perhaps  both,  appear  on 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


4 7 


Table  XV. — Institutions  of  the  Group 


Institution 

Total 

Eastern 

Western 

Total  

356 

158 

198 

Cemetery  1 

57 

• 28 

29 

Church - - - - 

47 

22 

25 

Creamery  or  cheese  factory  . _ __ 

39 

13 

26 

Farmers’  organization  . 

10 

5 

5 

Post  office  (active)  __  __  __  - 

6 

2 

4 

Post  office  (discontinued)  

28 

11 

17 

School  (district) 

112 

52 

60 

School  (parochial)  . 

6 

1 

5 

Social  center 

4 

0 

4 

Store  or  shop  

47 

24 

23 

the  horizon,  one  may  be  sure  of  preliminary  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  a group,  if  not  at  the  present  time  then  in  an 
earlier  day.  In  one  neighborhood  where  such  an  association 
is  active,  the  teacher  of  the  district  school,  a half  mile  away, 
takes  her  children  once  a year  to  this  place  of  memory.  She 
points  out  names  which  are  still  household  names  in  that 
neighborhood  and  tells  over  again  the  story  of  the  early  life 
of  those  settlers  who  forged  out  of  the  wilderness  the  civiliza- 
tion to  which  these  children  have  now  fallen  heir. 

Form. — In  this  section  effort  will  be  made  by  use  of  the  maps 
to  show  the  form  or  shape  which  these  primary  groups  have 
assumed.  First  the  tabular  lists  will  be  introduced  to  show  totals 
for  the  county.  The  table  is  number  XVI  and  carries  the  pri- 
mary and  secondary  classification  as  did  the  tables  for  function 
and  structure  above.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  even  a primary 
classification  of  a group  as  having  the  form  of  a school  district, 
for  example,  means  that  the  two  are  exactly  coextensive  but  that 
the  group  tends  more  nearly  to  approximate  this  area  than  other 
comparable  area.  This  becomes  then,  in  a sense  the  objective 
measure  of  the  structure  of  the  group. 

The  first,  in  order  followed  in  the  sections  above,  is  the  area 
corresponding  to  economic  activity  of  the  group  and  labeled  the 
economic  or  trade  area. 

The  term  “trade  area”  may  be  used  here  a little  inaccurately 
since  it  has  come  to  mean  the  area  about  a village  trading  cen- 
ter. Here,  its  use  means  the  geographic  extent  of  the  eco- 
nomic activity  of  the  group,  be  it  retail  grocery  trade  or  a 
creamery  or  cheese  factory  patronage  area.  The  summary 


48  Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 

tabulation,  table  XVI,  shows  12  groups  following  primarily 
their  economic  area  in  extent.  This  is  a somewhat  smaller 
number  than  are  reported  under  the  “Economic”  classification 
for  structure  and  function  which  seems  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
economic  has  not  worked  out  or  in  some  cases  has  lost  its 
definite  boundary  for  the  strictly  open  country  groups.  De- 
scribed in  another  way,  it  means  that  the  economic  area  has 
been  of  secondary  significance  or  has  fitted  into  other  recog- 
nized areas  such  as  church  parish  or  school  district.  Figure 
10  of  eastern  Dane  county  shows  a regular  village  trade  area 
map  superimposed  on  the  primary  group  map.  These  boun- 
daries were  made  from  a study  in  1917  and  in  some  cases  the 
lines  had  been  smoothed  in  order  to  eliminate  overlappings  and 
to  exclude  certain  small  center  areas.12 

Table  XVI. — Groups  Classified  on  Basis  of  Form 


Group  forms,  primary  and  secondary 


Division  of  county 

Trade 

area 

School 

district 

Family 

circle 

Town- 

ship 

Nation- 

ality 

settle- 

ment 

Church 

parish 

Social 

area 

With- 

out 

form 

Pri. 

Sec. 

Pri. 

Sec. 

Pri. 

Sec. 

Pri. 

Sec. 

Pri. 

Sec. 

Pri. 

Sec.  Pri. 

Sec. 

Total  

12 

9 

39 

4 

2 

1 

0 

4 

2 

25 

33 

2 

7 

19 

26 

Eastern 

7 

6 

19 

4 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

11 

15 

0 

2 

7 

12 

Western  

5 

3 

20 

0 

1 

1 

0 

4 

2 

14 

18 

2 

5 

12 

14 

The  only  area  recognized  by  this  map  corresponding  to  any 
of  the  primary  groups  under  consideration  is  that  of  Deans- 
ville.  Here  the  area  is  much  larger  than  is  shown  on  the 
base  map.  The  conclusion  one  comes  to  as  this  whole  map  is 
observed  is  that  the  village  or  city  trade  area  boundary  is  no 
respector  of  primary  group  lines.  A trade  line  cuts  through 
Norway  Grove,  through  West  Koshkonong,  through  East 
Bristol  and  so  on.  On  the  other  hand,  this  disregard  of  group 
lines  is  more  apparent  than  real.  To  show  this  point  more 
directly  Figure  11  for  the  western  part  of  the  country  is  intro- 
duced. It  shows  the  results  of  the  questions  regarding  trad- 


12  Galpin,  C.  J.,  and  James,  J.  A.  Rural  Relations  of  High  Schools.  Agr. 
Exp.  Sta.  Bulletin,  University  of  Wisconsin,  No.  228  (1918),  p.  11. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


49 


NEIGHBORHOOD  TRADE  AREA 


FIG.  10.— A VILLAGE  TRADE  AREA  MAP 

These  boundaries  were  made  from  a study  in  1917.  In  some  cases  the  lines 
had  been  smoothed  to  eliminate  overlapping's  and  to  exclude  certain  small  cen- 
ter areas. 


50 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


NEIGHBORHOOD  TRADE  AREA 


Neighborhood 
Boundaries 

,1  , / Township 


tu tnu  71) tun 


FIG.  11. — trading  areas  of  the  west 

The  trade  lines  do  not  always  respect  group  lines,  but  in  the  cases  of  cutting 
over  there  is  usually  an  area  of  overlapping. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


51 


in g center  which  were  asked  on  the  “Family  Question  Card.” 
The  trade  areas  are  shown  in  red.  The  overlapping  and  the 
inclusion  of  one  area  within  another  are  shown  by  systems 
of  cross  hatching  and  hatching,  respectively.  The  trade  lines 
do  not  always  respect  group  lines,  of  course,  but  in  many  in- 
stances where  they  do  cut  over  there  is  also  an  area  of  over- 
lapping. For  example,  Union  Valley,  Oak  Hall,  East  Middle- 
ton,  Acorn,  and  Mud  Lake  are  typical  of  this  tendency.  There 
are  exceptions  to  this,  for  Primrose  is  cut  by  the  New  Glarus 
boundary,  Pine  Bluff  by  Mt.  Horeb,  and  Frenchtown  by  Belle- 
ville. Of  the  exceptions  the  first  indicates  the  Swiss  influence 
which  is  rapidly  moving  north  across  Primrose  township.  The 
second  shows  a local  center’s  former  trade  area  abandoned  and 
now  divided  between  two  larger  centers  though  the  other 
bonds  of  the  group  are  still  holding  fast.  The  last  instance  of 
Belleville  shows  an  interesting  competitive  game  between  very 
active  farmers’  stores  at  Basco  and  Paoli  and  those  of  the 
larger  center,  Belleville.  The  latter  has  the  decided  advantage 
because  of  the  new  and  improved  roads,  but  the  smaller  centers 
are  surprisingly  vigorous  in  their  command  of  the  farmers’ 
trade.  A number  of  smaller  centers,  not  shown  on  the 
smoothed  map,  appear  here  as  inclusions  or  as  in  the  midst  of 
overlappings,  as,  for  example,  Riley,  Klevenville,  Fitchburg, 
Marxville,  Roxbury,  and  Springfield  Corners. 

A farmers’  organization  area  map  is  presented  under  Figure 
12,  which  carries  the  plottings  of  the  answers  to  the  question, 
“Where  do  you  go  for  your  farm  organization  meetings  such  as 
Equity,  Farmers’  Clubs,  or  Shipping  Associations,  etc.?”  This 
was  used  only  in  the  western  part  of  the  county.  The  reports 
were  rather  scattering  indicating  no  great  strength  of  farmers’ 
organization,  especially  when  considered  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  local  neighborhood  units.  In  general  the  village  head- 
quarters are  the  same  as  those  for  the  trade  areas,  the  high 
school  areas  and  even  to  some  extent  the  church  areas.  This 
would  seem  to  point  to  the  focussing  of  certain  of  the  farmer 
neighborhood  interests  in  the  nearby  villages. 

The  next  is  the  school  district  area.  This  comes  most  nearly 
approximating  the  primary  group  area  for  the  tabulation  shows 
39  primary  and  4 secondary  classifications.  When  turning  to 
the  map  comparison,  Figure  13,  one  is  not  impressed  at  once  with 


52 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


NEIGHBORHOOD  FARMERS’  ORGANIZATION  MAP 


FIG.  12.— FARMERS’  ORGANIZATION  AREA  MAP 

Reports  on  this  question  indicate  no  great  strength  of  farmers’  organiza- 
tions especially  from  the  standpoint  of  the  local  neighborhood  units. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


53 


the  coincidence  of  lines,  for  there  appears  to  be  a good  deal  of 
cutting  across  the  group  lines.  This  is  true,  particularly  of  the 
larger  groups,  where  some  other  factor  has  been  determining  as 
for  example,  the  religious  functions  in  the  case  of  the  parish 
boundary.  In  other  instances  the  central  part  of  the  group  and 
of  the  district  seem  to-  be  the  same,  but  their  boundaries  are 
different  in  certain  details.  One  explanation  is  that  those  liv- 
ing near  the  edge  of  the  neighborhood  were  less  conscious  of 
the  grouping,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  newer  comers  or 
renters  and  also  in  the  cases  where  the  group  itself  was  slipping 
toward  the  decadent  class.  A number  of  the  neighborhoods  and 
the  district  correspond  almost  exactly,  however,  and  there  the 
group  is  the  district  and  vice  versa.  Such  cases  are  Gaston, 
Tippel,  Ritchie,  Blue  Valley,  Malone  Valley,  Hanerville,  and 
Stone. 

For  a comparison  of  the  high  school  areas  in  relation  to 
neighborhood  groups  Figure  14  is  drawn.  13These  areas,  it  should 
be  noted,  are  simply  areas  of  influence  or  of  patronage  and  not 
the  legal  high  school  area  itself.  It  has  been  calculated  that  seven- 
eighths  of  Wisconsin’s  area  lies  outside  legal  high  school  districts. 
14It  is  doubtful  whether  Dane  county  is  an  exception  to  this  pro- 
portion. The  maps  now  under  observation  clearly  show  that  the 
rural  neighborhoods  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  do  not  have 
high  schools  of  their  own.  The  farmers’  children  attend  village 
and  city  schools  by  the  permission  and  tuition  system.  The  farm- 
ers do  not  have  a voice  in  the  management  of  these  institutions. 

The  family  circle  is  too  indefinite  a unit  to  be  of  special  value 
here.  It  is  carried  over  to  keep  the  classification  intact.  The 
two  cases  tabulated  under  the  heading  are  Table  Bluff,  or  Kahl 
Hill  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  and  the  Betlach-Dushack  group. 

The  tozvnship  as  a geographic  unit  receives  some  recognition  in 
this  measurement  plan.  There  are  four  groups  which  tend  to 
approximate  the  townships  in  which  they  exist,  although  for 
no  functional  or  structural  reasons.  These  are  Ashton,  Primrose, 
Roxbury  and  Springdale.  All  are  essentially  church  parishes. 
Some  tendency  was  noted  among  certain  of  the  church  bodies, 
especially  the  Lutheran  and  Catholic  groups,  to  speak  of  their 
parishes  in  terms  of  the  township  area  and  name. 


13  Galpin  and  James,  op.  cit.,  p.  9. 

14  Ibid,  p.  7. 


54 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


NEIGHBORHOOD  SCHOOL  DISTRICT  MAP 


FIG.  13.— THIS  APPROXIMATES  MOST  NEARLY  THE  PRIMARY  GROUP 

CLASSIFICATION 

Here  are  39  primary  and  4 secondary  classifications.  A number  of  the  neigh- 
borhoods and  the  districts  correspond  almost  exactly. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


55 


NEIGHBORHOOD  HIGH  SCHOOL  AREA 


vm/mm/t/Mt™ 7r7Tr>  > ^ 


fEST  DANE  COUNTY, 


Z$v/  lines 


Neighborhood 
Boundaries 


/ 


/ 


Township 


High  School  V. 
Area 


High  School  / 
Pupil  Vi 

t A 

Madison  high  / 
School  Pupil  £ 


FIG.  14. — HIGH  SCHOOL  AREAS  AS  RELATED  TO  NEIGHBORHOOD  GROUPS 
These  are  simply  areas  of  influence  or  of  patronage  and  not  the  legal  high 
school  areas  themselves. 


56 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


NEIGHBORHOOD  PARISH  MAP 


Tnnnu  n > n )n 

NEIGHBORHOOD  \ 
Boundaries  ' 

Township  / 


Parish 

Boundaries  v 


FIG.  15.— CHURCH  PARISH  BOUNDARIES 
The  red  lines  represent  the  church  areas  tributary  to  the  various  centers  rather 
than  exact  parishes  of  particular  churches. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


57 


NEIGHBORHOOD  SOCIAL  AREA  MAP 


resT  cou,,TY^  Neighborhood  / 
Boundaries  M 


Township 


mmm  / 

Overlapping  / 
Social  Areas  / 

Small  Social  / 
Areas  within  j 
Larger  Areas  j 

Social  Area  / 
Boundaries  " 


FIG.  16. — LITTLE  SOCIAL  LIFE  CENTERED  WITHIN  THE  NEIGHBOR- 
HOOD GROUP 

Much  of  the  unorganized  social  life  is  taken  for  granted  but  there  is  evidence  of 
the  influence  of  the  nearby  village. 


58 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


The  nationality  settlement , for  the  present  day  is  also  a very 
uncertain  unit  of  measurement,  in  fact  much  more  so  than 
formerly  because  various  local  histories,  biographies  and  private 
records  use  the  term  constantly  to  express  geographic  relation- 
ships. The  neighborhood  historic  map  pictures  this  tendency. 
As  a primary  unit  it  is  negligible  quantity,  yet  because  of  its 
strong  structural  power  in  the  secondary  sense  it  ranks  rather 
high.  No  mapping  is  attempted. 

The  next  measurement  is  the  church  parish  boundary.  Figure 
15  was  drafted  after  a careful  first  hand  study  of  the  county 
had  been  made.  Pastors,  leading  laymen,  business  men,  farmers 
and  bankers  were  interviewed  with  this  one  purpose  in  mind. 
This  parish  study  was  made  entirely  after  the  neighborhoods 
had  been  studied  and  mapped,  in  order  to  prevent  the  one  pur- 
pose from  influencing  the  other.  Next  to  the  school  district 
comes  the  church  parish  as  most  nearly  equalling  the  neighbor- 
hood boundary.  In  the  large  laboratory  map,  the  parish  boun- 
dary of  each  church  was  mapped  separately  but  when  super- 
imposed on  the  base  map  the  lines  became  undistinguishable. 
Figure  15  therefore  represents  the  church  areas  of  the  various 
centers  rather  than  exact  parishes  of  particular  churches.  Where 
there  is  but  the  one  church  at  the  center,  whether  village  or  open 
country,  the  boundary  does  represent  the  individual  parish  line. 
In  the  southwestern  section  especially,  the  two  boundaries  are 
frequently  found  coincident.  Due  to  the  mapping  process  re- 
ferred to  above,  there  is  conspicuous  lack  of  overlapping  which 
the  laboratory  map  brings  out  rather  strikingly.  Even  so,  there 
are  areas  where  two  church  centers  show  competition.  Various 
margins  and  open  areas  also  can  be  found  where  seemingly  no 
church  is  having  its  influence  deeply  felt. 

Another  of  the  area  comparisons  is  the  social  area.  This  was 
obtained  by  the  question,  “Where  do  you  go  for  social  affairs 
such  as  parties,  socials  or  dances,  etc.?”  The  answers  to  this 
question  are  probably  the  least  satisfactory  and  definite  of  those 
received,  perhaps  because  of  the  indefiniteness  of  the  question, 
but  also  because  of  the  very  uncertainty  and  lack  of  concen- 
tration of  this  phase  of  life  itself.  The  results  are  mapped  in 
Figure  16.  The  tabulation  shows  this  area  as  represented  by  a 
local  organization  or  club  rather  weak  and  vague  except  as  a 
secondary  choice.  The  map  shows  considerable  overlapping  but 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


59 


the  surprising  thing  about  the  answers  was  that  they  indicated 
so  little  social  life  centered  within  the  neighborhood  group  itself. 
There  are  a number  of  such  reports  to  be  sure,  but  much  of  the 
unorganized  social  life  of  the  group  is  taken  for  granted  and 
then  again  the  evidence  of  the  influence  of  the  nearby  village 
is  rather  striking. 

The  ever  present  residue  is  here  classed,  as  those  groups  with- 
out form.  The  boundaries  to  be  sure  appear  on  the  maps,  but 
there  seems  to  be  nothing  distinctive  about  the  lines  in  their 
relation  to  the  structure  or  in  their  relation  to  the  other  recog- 
nized comparable  units. 

One  more  area  needs  to  be  discussed  in  this  section  although 
there  have  been  no  corresponding  functions  or  structures 
outlined.  It  is  the  communication-transportation  area.  It 
would  seem  difficult  to  overestimate  the  importance  of  this 
factor  in  its  relation  to  these  rural  neighborhoods  and  espe- 
cially at  such  times  as  these,  when  the  group  movements  and 
changes  seem  so  rapid  and  sometimes  so  uncertain  of  direction. 
As  a beginning  for  the  study  of  this  section,  Fgure  17  is  intro- 
duced, showing  a country  road  map  and  an  electric  power  line 
map  imposed  on  the  neighborhood  base  map.15  The  solid  lines 
with  the  numbers  in  circles  show  the  state  trunk  highway  sys- 
tem as  it  was  maintained  for  travel  in  1921.  The  solid  lines 
with  the  letters  in  the  circles  show  the  principle  secondary 
highways  which  the  county  guaranteed  to  patrol  in  1921.  The 
broken  lines  show  secondary  roads  maintained  solely  by  the 
local  government  units.  This  road  system  clearly  shows  the 
city  of  Madison  to  be  the  hub  for  a wheel  arrangement,  as  it  is 
also  for  the  railroad  system.  The  village  centers  are  seen  as 
the  secondary  focal  points  in  this  transportation  system. 

Although  perhaps  electric  power  lines  cannot  be  classed 
under  transportation  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  yet  for 
convenience  the  mapping  was  introduced  here;  but  its  justi- 
fication for  consideration  stands  solely  upon  its  importance 
with  reference  to  any  discussion  of  rural  society.  Unfortun- 
ately time  did  not  permit  of  location  of  the  various  former 
tributary  lines  which  tap  these  power  lines  at  various  relay 
stations.  One  line  in  the  northwestern  section  was  found, 

13  The  road  map  was  drawn  from  maps  furnished  by  the  Wisconsin 
Highway  Commission;  the  electric  lines  from  maps  furnished  by  Mr. 
Damon  of  the  Wisconsin  Railroad  Commission. 


60 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


NEIGHBORHOOD  HIGHWAY  AND  ELECTRIC 
POWER  MAP 


F1G.  17.— A COMMUNICATION-TRANSPORTATION  t 

It  is  difficult  to  overestimate  the gvouV  movements 
the  rural  neighborhoods  and  especially  at  present  wnen  tnc  gx 
and  changes  seem  so  rapid  and  often  uncertain  of  direction. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


61 


NEIGHBORHOOD  MAIL  SERVICE 


CENTERS 
©Brooklyn 

©CAMBRIDGE 
@ Cottace  Grove 
©Dane 
® Oecrfielo 
©De  Forest 
© Edgerton 
© Macfarland 
© Madison 
© Marshall 

©MOARISONVILLI 

©Oregon 
©Stoughton 
© Sun  Prairie 

© Waunakee 
® Windsor 

mt/antttuL. 


FIG.  18. — THE  RURAL  DELIVERY  AREAS  AS  RELATED  TO  THE  NEIGH- 
BORHOOD GROUPS 

The  lines  represent  actual  routes  but  not  all  the  routes  from  a center  are 
shown.  They  indicate  rather  the  farm  areas  which  have  the  same  post  office 
address. 


62 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


however,  with  about  40  farmer  patrons  who  used  current  for 
lighting,  for  power  to  run  pumps,  cream  separators,  power 
washers  and  to  do  the  family  ironing.  To  one,  who  has  grown 
up  on  a farm  in  the  days  of  kerosene  lamps  and  lanterns,  long 
handled  pumps  and  wash  boards,  the  change  is  certainly  strik- 
ing. Local  farmer  companies  are  organized  which  build  the 
tributary  lines  and  connect  with  the  larger  power  lines.  The 
basis  of  selection  of  members  of  these  local  companies  and 
their  relation  to  these  headquarter  relay  stations  is  the  point 
for  attention  in  this  discussion. 

A second  factor  in  this  communication-transportation  dis- 
cussion is  that  of  the  rural  mail  service.  Under  the  discussion  of 
the  rural  institutions,  the  tabulation  number  XV  showed  that  at 
one  time  34  of  the  primary  groups  had  performed  the  function  of 
local  mail  distribution.  At  the  present  time  but  six  are  charged 
with  this  duty  and  only  two  of  these,  Klevenville,  Basco  or 
Frenchtown  as  shown  on  the  base  map  have  more  than  a very 
small  local  delivery,  that  is,  are  starting  points  for  rural  routes. 
Figure  18  maps  the  rural  delivery  areas  in  their  relation  to  the 
neighborhood  groups.  The  lines  represent  actual  routes  but  not 
all  the  routes  from  a center  are  shown.  The  purpose  was  rather 
to  show  the  boundaries  of  influence  of  these  centers  in  this  par- 
ticular respect.  The  circles  in  the  lines  carrying  letters  refer  to 
the  center  from  which  the  route  starts.  The  legend  will  assist 
in  the  identification  of  each. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  township  lines,  no  respect  is  had  for 
local  neighborhood  boundaries.  It  is  a little  difficult  to  understand 
by  looking  at  the  map  just  what  lines  or  principles  were  respected, 
for  a certain  farmer  has  his  post  office  address  as  Dane  while  his 
neighbor  in  the  small  local  group,  gets  his  mail  from  Waunakee. 
Marshall  and  Sun  Prairie  lend  to  confusion  in  another  group, 
Basco,  Verona  and  Oregon  in  still  another.  This  seems  to  indi- 
cate that  a local  group  of  farmers  are  given  their  mail  or  post 
office  headquarters  without  any  reference  to  their  convenience  or 
choice.  To  the  city  business  man  this  would  be  a serious  handi- 
cap ; to  the  farmers  it  is  often  an  inconvenience  for  it  leads  to 
confusion  when  others  try  to  locate  his  place  of  business  by  use  of 
this  post  office  address.  It  is  also  a source  of  difficulty  when  a 
local  group  tries  to  effect  an  organization  of  some  kind  and  finds 
that  its  lines  of  communication  are  not  centralized  but  scattered. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


63 


NEIGHBORHOOD  TELEPHONE  SERVICE 


FIG.  19. — RURAL  TELEPHONE  CONNECTIONS 

Only  the  areas  surrounding'  the  various  exchanges  are  indicated  for  these 
are  the  controlling  factors  in  communication. 


64 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


The  next  line  of  communication  is  the  rural  telephone.  Only 
the  eastern  part  of  the  county  is  shown  on  the  map,  Figure  19. 
The  danger  of  confusion  of  detail  was  present  again  so  only  the 
areas  surrounding  the  various  exchanges  were  indicated,  for  after 
all  these  are  the  controlling  factors  in  this  matter  of  communica- 
tion. 

A final  area  of  influence  in  the  matter  of  communication  is  the 
local  press.  Figure  20  shows  the  areas  of  circulation  for  the  va- 
rious local  publications.  This  agency  has  within  its  grasp  pow- 
erful means  for  influencing  the  thought  and  action  of  rural  people. 

This  local  press  in  addition  to  centering  attention  in  the  village 
or  city,  contributes  directly  to  the  local  consciousness  of  the  coun- 
try groups.  It  carries  in  its  news  columns  the  “personals”  and 
the  local  happenings  of  various  groups  under  the  captions  of  their 
own  neighborhood  names,  even  down  to  the  detail  of  telling  which 
of  the  neighbors  had  chicken  dinner  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Doe 
and  family  last  Sunday. 


■V  n . 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


65 


NEIGHBORHOOD  PRESS  MAP 


FIG.  20. — AREAS  OF  CIRCULATION  FOR  LOCAL  PUBLICATIONS 

This  agency  has  within  its  grasp  powerful  means  for  influencing  the  thought 
and  action  of  rural  people. 


66 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


PART  V 

THE  PRIMARY  GROUP  AND  RURAL  ORGANIZATION 

Investigation  and  study  should  end  in  action.  Organization 
is  the  watch  word  of  the  day.  Therefore,  what  is  the  relationship 
of  these  rural  primary  groups  to  the  whole  field  of  organization? 

In  order  to  be  as  free  as  possible  from  confusion,  let  it  be  re- 
called that  by  the  primary  or  neighborhood  group  is  meant  that 
first  group  beyond  the  family  which  has  social  significance  and 
which  has  some  local  consciousness  of  unity;  that  by  community 
or  trade  area  in  the  geographic  sense  is  meant  a group  of  farms 
with  a trading  center.  The  primary  group  is  essentially  a psy- 
chological thing  for  the  study  of  which  objective  standards  and 
geographic  measurements  have  been  used.  The  community  or 
trade  area  may  or  may  not  be  a significant  social  group  although 
it  is  usually.  This  study  has  been  concerned  primarily  with  the 
strictly  open  country  groups  in  their  relation  to  the  individual,  to 
other  such  groups,  and  to  the  groups  centering  in  the  villages  or 
cities. 


The  Findings  Summarized 

It  has  been  suggested  that  going  out  in  an  agricultural  district 
to  find  groups  was  like  trying  to  find  “the  beaten  tracks  on  the 
open  deep.”16  No  such  difficulties  were  experienced,  for  every- 
where there  was  evidence  of  group  life  and  activity.  After  a few 
days  in  the  field,  enough  to  whet  one’s  sense,  the  social  “water 
sheds”  could  almost  be  recognized  as  one  passed  along  the  road 
stopping  every  now  and  then  to  visit  or  to  ask  a few  non-committal 
questions. 

One  hundred  and  twenty-one  groups  of  rural  people  have  been 
represented  within  neighborhood  geographic  boundaries  and  they 
have  beside  the  criterion  of  local  consciousness  of  unity,  the  one 
common  objective  characteristic  of  a group  name.  This  name  may 
stand  for  as  many  different  things  as  there  are  groups  or  it  may 


Sims,  N.  Li.,  The  Rural  Community , p.  141. 


V 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


67 


stand  for  a number  of  differing  bonds  within  the  one  group.  For 
the  sake  of  getting  at  bases  for  discussion,  these  various  possible 
meanings  were  classified  under  seven  heads  termed  functions, 
as  follows:  economic,  educational,  kinship,  local  government,  na- 
tionality, religious,  and  social.  It  was  found  that  95  of  the 
groups  could  be  located  within  this  classification  and  26  for  one 
reason  or  another  were  practically  without  designating  factors, 
that  is,  were  decadent  or  as  it  might  be  expressed,  they  were 
present-day  names  but  for  traditional  groups.  About  each  village 
or  city  was  found  a grouping  or  focusing  of  the  open  country  life 
toward  this  center.  Sometimes  a rural  consciousness  as  distinct 
from  the  village  was  found  and  sometimes,  especially  with  the 
smaller  centers,  there  seemed  to  be  a blending  over  until  no 
boundary  could  be  distinguished. 

These  groups  owe  their  original  existence  to  a number  of  dif- 
ferent factors  or  their  combination  such  as  topography  and 
original  vegetation,'  nationality  bonds,  religious  purpose,  the  mi- 
gration from  a common  place  of  residence  and  economic  or  social 
purposes.  Again  these  groups  are  changing  things.  Only  18 
were  found  in  which  changes  were  not  easily  recognizable.  These 
changes  are  partly  to  be  explained  on  the  basis  of  shifting  popu- 
lation, modification  of  institutional  arrangements  and  leadership, 
and  in  improvements  in  means  of  communication  and  trans- 
portation. 

Conclusions  Significant  for  Rural  Organization 

Organization  Plans  Must  Recognize  Rural  Primary  Groups. 

The  first  significant  conclusion  which  may  be  drawn  from  the 
study  is  that  there  are  real  rural  groupings  in  the  open  country  and 
that  these  groups  are  of  such  importance  as  to  render  any  scheme 
of  organization  questionable  which  deliberately  leaves  them  out 
of  consideration.  These  group  lines  or  “mixing”  lines,  as  Super- 
intendent Thompson  calls  them,  cut  across  arbitrary  townships 
and  county  lines,  appear  within  trade  area  boundaries  and  tend  to 
approximate  other  recognised  lines  in  the  following  rank  as 
judged  by  frequency:  school  district,  church  parish,  trade  area, 
and  social  area,  with  family  circle  or  nationality  settlement  prac- 
tically without  meaning  at  the  present  time.  The  groups  are  not 
the  results  of  accident  but  of  achievement,  sometimes  a conscious 
process  and  sometimes  not.  The  social  product,  unity  or  solidar- 


68 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


ity,  has  come  about  by  adaptations  which  include  both  intimate 
association  and  conflict.  This  social  product  cannot  be  lightly 
set  aside.  Even  though  it  has  been  shown  that  nearly  half  the 
groups  have  lost  their  original  characteristics,  yet  the  majority 
which  remains  far  outweighs  those  which  have  gone.  They  are 
the  ones  which  have  accommodated  themselves  to  the  changing 
needs.  They  have  expanded  their  areas;  they  have  organized 
their  resources.  Evidence  is  not  lacking  to  indicate  that  the  farmer 
wishes  his  own  groups  to  count,  wants  his  interests  recognized 
and  even  demands  that  he  be  given  every  advantage  which  organi- 
zation can  bring. 

Many  Rural  Primary  Groups  Are  Too  Small  For  Efficient 
Service.  The  exponents  of  better  methods  for  farmers’  co- 
operative enterprises  have  been  advocating  these  many  years  that 
one  of  the  prime  essentials  for  success  is  “sufficient  volume  of 
business.”  They  say  that  this  is  necessary  in  order  to  make  pos- 
sible certain  specialization  which  in  turn  is  needed  to  give  the 
maximum  of  service  at  a minimum  of  cost  to  the  individual  mem- 
ber. This  principle  applied  to  creameries  means,  they  say,  100  to 
150  families  depending  on  the  individual  farm  production  in  order 
to  reach  about  200,000  pounds  of  butter  fat.  This  principle  applied 
to  churches  according  to  the  Ohio  Rural  Life  Survey  shows  that 
for  19  counties  only  48  per  cent  of  the  rural  churches  with  a mem- 
bership of  101-150  grow,  while  59  per  cent  with  memberships  of 
151-200  and  76  per  cent  with  memberships  of  201  and  over  are 
growing.17  This  means,  in  order  to  get  into  the  class  where 
growth  can  be  assured,  that  upwards  of  50  families  would  be 
needed  if  the  size  of  family  were  five  as  the  figures  show  it  is  for 
Dane  county.  George  S.  Dick  of  the  Wisconsin  State  Department 
of  Education  would  apply  this  same  principle  to  the  educational 
service  of  the  rural  community.  He  says  that  at  least  100  to  150 
children  are  needed  to  make  possible  an  efficient  consolidated 
school  which  carries  with  it  the  possibility  of  a local  high  school. 
In  fact,  he  argues  that  the  high  school  feature  is  one  of  the  biggest 
reasons  for  consolidation.  This  would  mean  at  least  75  to  100 
families.  If  the  26  neighborhood  groups  are  excluded  which  were 
classed  as  decadent,  we  find  that  the  balance  averages  a little  short 
of  30  families  per  neighborhood.  If  these  26  are  left  in  as  they 
should  be,  since  the  total  includes  the  families  within  their  bound- 


17  Vogt,  “Introduction  to  Rural  Sociology,  p.  315. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


69 


aries,  the  average  becomes  slightly  over  21  per  neighborhood. 
As  the  average  size  of  farm  in  the  county  was  about  148  acres, 
100  families  would  require  a land  area  of  a little  less  than  half 
of  the  area  of  an  average  township.  The  groups  mapped,  how- 
ever, average  considerably  less  than  a quarter  of  a township.  The 
conclusion  seems  rather  inevitable  then,  that  a neighborhood  self- 
sufficiency  scheme  of  rural  organization  is  not  a present  day  pos- 
sibility, especially  when  such  a large  number  of  small  groups  are 
found  which  tend  to  bring  the  averages  down  below  the  point  of 
efficiency. 

Other  Primary  Groups  Render  Distinctive  Services  But  of 
Limited  Number.  Approaching  the  case  from  slightly  different 
angle,  suppose  one  were  to  attempt  another  classification  of  the 
groups  represented  on  the  base  maps,  this  time  not  simply  to  rule 
out  those  which  gave  evidence  of  lacking  any  creating  or  holding 
factor,  but  on  the  positive  basis  of  distinctive  service  rendered  by 
the  group  as  a group.  This  means  not  such  service  or  function  as 
would  be  performed  in  a more  or  less  off-hand  manner  whether 
the  group  were  effective  or  not,  such  as  the  township  elections, 
the  running  of  the  district  schools  or  the  operation  of  a country 
store,  or  garage,  but  rather  such  unity  of  activity  in  which  the 
group  as  a group  works  as  a present  day  conscious  force.  A 
classification  on  such  a basis  involves  personal  judgment  to  be 
sure  rather  than  statements  from  members  of  the  group  in  ques- 
tion. Such  a tabulation,  however,  has  been  attempted  and  is 
presented  under  Table  XVII.  The  caption  headings  are  shifted  a 
little  to  include  communication-transportation  services  such  as 

Table  XVII. — Groups  Classified  on  Basis  of  Distinctive  Present  Day 
Services  Performed  By  Group  Action 


Number  of  groups  and  services  performed 


Section  of  county 

Num- 

ber 

Eco- 
nomic 
( trade) 

Educa- 

tional 

Reli- 

gious 

Social 

Farmer 

organ- 

ization 

Com- 
muni- 
cation, 
trans- 
porta- 
tion ! 

Two  or 
more 
services 

Total  

60 

20  | 

28 

35 

22 

13 

4 

40 

East  _ 

31 

11 

14 

16 

10 

7 

3 

20 

West  

29 

9 

14 

19 

12 

6 

1 

20 

70 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  51 


telephone  central,  rural  mail  route  headquarters,  or  local  good 
roads  association,  while  family  and  nationality  factors  were 
dropped.  This  tabulation  shows  a total  of  60  neighborhood  groups 
performing  services  as  follows:  economic  (trade),  20;  educa- 

tional, 28;  religious,  35;  social,  22;  farmer  organization,  13; 
communication-transportation,  4.  Those  groups  performing  two 
or  more  of  these  services  or  functions  totaled  40.  There  were  5 
groups  which  performed  four  of  the  services,  but  none  more. 

These  services  are  distinctive  and  must  be  recognized  as  such, 
especially  when  they  are  performed  by  groups  large  enough  to 
render  them  efficient  from  the  standpoint  of  sufficient  volume  of 
business.  This  was  the  case  with  the  majority  of  those  groups 
within  the  distinctive  service  classification.  Nevertheless  the 
evidence  shows  that  the  neighborhood  group  does  not  render  a 
sufficient  number  of  different  services  to  meet  the  needs  of  its  own 
members.  This  does  not  imply  that  such  a group  is  useless  but 
rather  that  its  organization  plans  must  extend  beyond  its  own 
borders  as  well. 

Table  XVIII — Village  and  City  Centers  Classified  on  Basis  of 
Services  Rendered  to  Rural  Primary  Groups 


Number  of  centers  and  services  rendered 


Section  of  county 

Number 

Eco- 

nomic 

(trade) 

Educa- 

tional 

(high 

school) 

Reli- 

gious 

Social 

Farmer 

organ-J 

ization 

Com- 
muni- 
cation , 
trans- 
porta- 
tion 

Total 
of  5 
services 

Total  

* 

29 

19 

29 

29 

23  1 

27 

23 

East  1 

15  ! 

15  i 

10 

15 

15 

11  1 

13 

10 

West  

14  i 

14 

9 

14 

14 

12  i 

14 

12 

The  Village  is  the  Farmers’  Service  Station.  Turning  now 

to  examine  these  village  and  city  centers  in  their  relationship  to 
the  rendering  of  this  same  set  of  services  to  farmers  outside  their 
limits,  Table  XVIII  shows  a total  of  29  such  centers  with  the 
city  of  Madison  excluded,  which  render  the  services  as  follows: 
economic  (trade),  29;  educational  (high  school),  19;  religious, 
20 ; social,  29 ; farmers’  organization  headquarters,  23 ; communi- 
cation-transportation, 27.  There  was  a total  of  23  centers  which 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


71 


rendered  five  out  of  the  six  services  classified.  The  groups  and 
centers  included  in  these  classifications  are  now  presented  in  map 
form  under  Figures  21  and  22.  The  active  rural  service  groups 
are  shaded  and  the  23  centers  rendering  five  or  more  of  the 
services  are  circled.  This  procedure  should  indicate  sufficiently 
that  a minimum  of  five  services  or  functions  seems  necessary  to 
the  life  of  a rural  group  or  even  a rural  people  not  recognized  as 
a group.  It  is  evident  that  all  of  these  services  cannot  be  rendered 
by  the  rural  primary  groups  themselves  as  they  have  been  defined 
here  since  only  a little  over  50  per  cent  of  those  shown  classify 
in  this  distinctive  service  class  and  less  than  65  per  cent  of  these 
performed  two  or  more  of  the  necessary  services.  This  may  have 
been  a long  way  around  to  come  to  the  statement  that  for  pur- 
poses of  rural  organization  the  village  or  city  center  must  be  in- 
cluded in  any  plan  which  involves  the  farmer  group. 

Therefore,  Village  and  Rural  Groups  Must  Federate.  But 

now  that  the  village  and  open  country  groups  are  tied  together  in 
this  rural  relationship  of  the  six  services,  the  question  comes  as 
to  how  the  organization  of  this  relationship  shall  be  effected. 
From  figures  21  and  22,  where  the  active  services  of  the  rural 
groups  and  their  village  centers  are  shown,  it  becomes  evident 
that  there  are  at  least  three  relationships  which  must  be  worked 
out.  They  are : first,  the  relation  of  the  distinctive  service  per- 
forming groups  to  the  village  centers  rendering  the  five  services 
and  of  these  rural  service  groups  included  in  this  village  influence 
area  to  each  other ; second,  the  relation  of  this  village  and  service 
group  area,  which  now  can  be  called  the  “community”  area,  to 
the  non-functional  groups  and  to  the  non-grouped  areas,  as  well 
as  to  the  village  centers  of  smaller  service ; and  finally,  the  inter- 
relation of  the  larger  “community”  areas  themselves. 

Active  Rural  Groups  and  the  Village  Center  Should  Form  a 
Community.  The  first  relationship  is  that  of  the  distinctive 
service  groups  to  the  village  centers  to  the  end  that  together  some 
plan  of  organization  may  be  effected  bringing  into  play  the  forces 
of  a larger  social  unity,  which  may  be  called  for  purposes  of 
geographic  location,  the  community-service  area  unit.  It  must 
be  said  first  of  all  that  this  larger  unit  is  not  to  swallow  up  the 
active  primary  rural  groups  nor  to  subject  their  freedom  or  au- 
tonomy to  any  arbitrary  centralized  power.  People  are  different. 
One  group  cannot  satisfy  all  the  demands  made  by  such  differing 


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NEIGHBORHOOD  VILLAGE  CENTER  MAP 
Service  Relationship 


FIG.  21.— ACTIVE  SERVICES  OF  RURAL  GROUPS  AND  THEIR  VILLAGE 

CENTERS 

The  larger  community  unit  must  not  swallow  up  the  active  primary  rural  groups. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


73 


NEIGHBORHOOD  VILLAGE  CENTER  MAP 
Service  Relationship 


FIG.  22. — RELATION  OF  GROUPS  AND  VILLAGE  CENTERS  SHOW  NEED 
FOR  NEW  SERVICES 

Now  that  village  and  open  country  groups  are  tied  together  in  rural  rela- 
tionship of  six  services,  the  question  comes  as  to  how  the  organization  of  this 
relationship  shall  be  effected. 


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elements  of  a whole  community  area.  The  young  people  have 
certain  demands  to  be  met  by  organization  and  so  do  the  women 
and  children.  All  do  not  have  the  same  inclinations  or  ideas 
regarding  social  activity  or  religious  expression  and  so  all  the 
interests  can  seldom  be  served  in  one  grouping.  But  there  are 
certain  other  things  which  all  in  such  a community  may  have  in 
common.  The  point  is  that  organization  must  come  through 
group  activity  and  group  processes.  To  be  sure  there  are  those  who 
fear  the  organization  and  recognition  of  such  group  conscious- 
ness but  this  appears  to  be  the  way  of  progress,  for  as  Doctor 
Ely  says  in  speaking  of  the  development  of  legislation  regarding 
private  property,  “for  legislation  always  represents  actually  exist- 
ing forces.  If  any  section  of  the  community  does  not  stand  for  an 
actually  existing  force,  it  is  not  and  cannot  be  represented  by  leg- 
islation.”18 Probably  as  good  a statement  of  the  point  in  question 
as  can  be  found  is  made  by  Miss  Follett.  “Every  group  once  be- 
come conscious  of  itself  instantly  seeks  other  groups  with  which 
to  unite  to  form  a larger  whole.  Alone  it  cannot  be  effective  . . . 
The  reason  we  want  neighborhood  organization  is  not  to  keep 
people  within  their  neighborhoods  but  to  get  them  out.  The  move- 
ment for  neighborhood  organization  is  a deliberate  effort  to  get 
people  to  identify  themselves  actually,  not  sentimentally,  with  a 
larger  and  larger  collective  unit.”19  A practical  illustration  may 
be  of  service.  Last  fall  at  Arena  the  farmers  and  villagers  met 
as  a Parent-Teachers  Association  for  a community  program  with 
a grain,  fruit  and  vegetable  exhibit  and  contest.  The  meeting 
was  in  the  township  high  school.  Village  and  country  folk  were 
on  a par  in  its  management  and  control.  Nevertheless  the  farm- 
ers were  still  farmers  and  villagers  were  still  villagers  and  the 
agricultural  teacher  had  been  wise  enough  to  build  upon  the  fact 
for  there  were  farmer  clubs  grouped  out  about  the  district  schools 
and  it  was  these  groups  which  were  competing  in  the  exhibits. 
The  village  people  had  their  group  organization  and  also  competed 
in  the  classes  which  matched  their  interest.  This  same  principle 
lies  at  the  bottom  of  the  Federated  Clubs  of  Walworth  County. 
The  farmers  are  organized  into  local  groups  about  certain  activ- 
ities and  interests  of  their  own.  The  business  men  in  the  service 
centers  are  organized  about  their  own  interests.  Twice  a year  all 
these  groups  assemble  in  a common  meeting  but  they  gather  as 

18  Ely,  R.  T.,  Property  and  Contract,  Vol.  I,  p.  366. 

10  Follett,  M.  P.,  The  New  State , p.  249. 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


75 


groups,  once  in  the  summer  for  a social  and  patriotic  occasion 
and  once  in  the  winter  for  serious  conference  upon  the  common 
interests  and  problem  of  the  county. 

This  matter  of  the  larger  community  organization  of  the  various 
interests  of  the  rural  life  must  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the 
people  themselves  and  especially  to  those  who  have  been  desig- 
nated leaders  of  the  schools,  churches,  welfare  agencies  and  the 
social  activity.  It  must  come  to  the  attention  and  action  of  legis- 
lative groups.  Some  have  suggested  that  the  neglect  of  this  prin- 
ciple led  to  many  of  the  difficulties  in  France  after  the  revolution 
when  the  country  was  arbitrarily  divided  without  respect  to  those 
groupings  already  existing.  Progress  will  come  as  the  organiza- 
tion of  those  lines  of  interest  which  are  most  simple  and  upon 
which  all  can  agree  most  easily  and  quickly,  are  attempted  first. 
For  as  Professor  Cooley  says,  “All  progress  must  be  based  upon 
conformity  to  what  is.” 

The  Non-Grouped  Areas  Need  Organization.  The  second 
relationship  under  discussion  is  that  of  this  community-service 
unit,  made  effective  by  the  federation  of  the  various  group  inter- 
ests, with  that  area  not  included  within  neighborhood  boundaries. 
First  of  all,  it  should  be  observed  that  there  is  more  than  coinci- 
dence about  the  fact  that  there  is  an  ungrouped  area  about  each 
village  center  as  shown  on  the  base  maps.  Life  and  activity  are 
centered  in  the  village,  which  dominates  the  institutional  life  as 
well.  Attention  has  been  called  to  the  same  tendency  as  shown  by 
a school  study  in  Iowa  County.20  In  every  case,  except  where  the 
factor  of  topography  intervened,  the  schools  immediately  sur- 
rounding the  village  center  are  smaller  than  those  outlying.  The 
responsibility  and  the  tendency  of  the  center  to  this  immediate 
non-grouped  area,  then,  seems  to  be  quite  clear.  It  must  center 
in  the  village. 

Next  in  order  are  the  groups  still  more  or  less  recognized  as 
groups  but  not  in  the  distinctive  sense  which  was  made  the  basis 
for  the  ranking  as  shown  on  the  maps,  figures  21  and  22.  Here 
the  group  bonds  are  slipping,  the  local  consciousness  is  fading  due 
to  some  factor  or  combination  of  factors  of  change  outlined  pre- 
viously. Here  the  problem  is  to  make  a substitution  for  the  van- 
ishing group.  There  appears  to  be  more  than  a chance  significance 

20  Merritt,  E.,  and  Hatch,  K.  L.,  Some  Economic  Factors  Which  Influence 
Rural  Education  in  Wisconsin,  Agricultural  Exp.  Sta.  Research  Bulletin  40, 
University  of  Wisconsin  (1916),  p.  31. 


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in  the  expression  that  it  is  quite  as  serious  for  a man  to  be  without 
a neighborhood  or  community  as  to  be  without  a country.  There 
were  powerful  forces  at  work  upon  the  individual  in  many  of 
those  early  settlements  which  have  been  described.  It  was  here 
that  the  boy  and  girl  learned  their  lesson  in  society,  learned  that 
rights  were  matched  with  duties  with  reference  to  this  group  life, 
that  privileges  were  paired  with  responsibilities.  This  is  not  a 
matter  of  sentiment  at  all,  it  is  a question  of  group  control,  of 
group  standards  and  loyalties  and  of  co-operative  experience. 
A case  in  point  is  of  a young  and  well-educated  couple  just  start- 
ing to  farm  on  what  was  the  site  of  the  old  Hyer’s  Corners  Inn. 
They  were  called  upon  and  this  neighborhood  idea  was  discussed 
from  every  angle.  The  question  card  had  come  to  their  home  and 
they -were  at  a loss  to  know  how  to  answer  it.  Here  was  their  sit- 
uation : They  received  their  mail  and  went  to  farmer  organization 
meetings  in  Dane  village;  they  traded  in  Waunakee;  they  went 
to  church  in  Martinsville ; they  sent  their  milk  to  a creamery  at 
Springfield  Corners,  and  they  were  within  the  school  district  to 
the  north  known  as  Elm  Grove.  The  question  is  not  raised  as  to 
which  of  these  bonds  should  be  cut  or  that  any  loyalties  should  be 
weakened,  but  it  is  contended  that  this  scattering  of  interests  is 
obviously  impairing  the  efficiency  of  this  family  unit.  It  was  a 
unit  by  itself  but  looking  for  a larger  group  relationship. 

The  automobile  has  been  one  factor  in  this  whole  situation  also. 
The  early  acquisition  of  the  machine  has  excited  a rather  exagger- 
ated sense  of  freedom,  for  where  five  miles  was  formerly  a limit, 
now  it  is  twenty-five,  and  more.  The  automobile  must  be  “domes- 
ticated” and  made  to  do  service  for  neighborhood  and  for  commu- 
nity as  well. 

Again,  families  were  found  who  were  rather  on  the  “fringes” 
of  the  recognized  groups,  casting  their  lot  in  with  the  group  when 
some  activity  turned  to  their  advantage  but  keeping  aloof  from 
complete  identification.  In  some  cases  these  “fringes”  of  families 
would  also  appear  in  certain  “non”  areas  with  reference  to  church, 
social  activity,  or  farmers’  organization  work  but  in  these  latter 
arrangements,  the  maps  fail  pretty  largely  to  show  the  relationship 
since  when  the  larger  boundaries  were  located  many  families  not 
reporting  are  entirely  surrounded  by  those  reporting  the  center 
for  which  the  lines  were  drawn.  Certain  designations,  however, 
for  these  non-grouped  families  were  frequently  caught  in  more  or 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


77 


less  casual  conversations  such  as,  “They  don’t  keep  the  Sabbath,” 
“They  are  free  thinkers,”  “That  is  a mixed  marriage,”  (meaning 
that  people  of  two  church  groups  had  married,  resulting  in  their 
not  identifying  themselves  with  either  group  completely),  “They 
don’t  belong  anywhere,”  and  “Oh  they  are — (Naming  a nationality 
different  from  that  of  the  group  in  question).  We  don’t  mix  with 
them.  They  are  alright  but  they  seem  to  handle  things  differently 
than  we  do.” 

A group  of  farmers  was  encountered  on  the  road  and  in  the 
course  of  the  conversation  were  asked  where  they  did  most  of 
their  trading.  This  seemingly  touched  off  a line  of  discussion  not 
new  to  them  for  they  began  to  protest  at  the  treatment  and  prices 
they  had  encountered  in  the  two  centers  between  which  they  had 
evidently  been  oscillating  in  their  trading.  Finally  they  were 
asked  whether  they  had  ever  tried  carrying  their  protests  as  a 
group  to  the  group  of  village  business  men  of  whom  they  were 
complaining  and  seeing  if  some  understanding  could  not  be 
reached.  They  had  not  tried  this  to  be  sure  because  they  had 
developed  no  sense  of  neighborhood  grouping  in  relation  to  other 
groups,  not  to  say  a sense  of  community  group  life. 

In  many  instances,  therefore,  the  organization  activity  with 
respect  to  these  non-functional  groups  or  non-grouped  areas  will 
have  to  be  the  process  of  realignment  and  integration.  As  has 
been  intimated  earlier,  many  of  the  groups  may  be  expanded  to 
include  people  whose  differences  are  no  longer  sufficient  to  keep 
them  out.  Such  is  the  case  with  Hanerville  and  Dunkirk,  with 
Gaston  and  Pierceville,  with  Happy  Valley  and  Erbe  Valley,  the 
First  Luther  and  Mud  Lake,  and  so  on.  In  other  cases  it  should 
be  the  organization  of  new  neighborhood  units  either  where  the 
old  have  ceased  to  render  services  needed  at  present,  or  where 
there  has  been  a complete  lack  of  group  activity  for  a long  time. 
Oregon  and  Fitchburg  townships  are  the  illustrations  of  the  first, 
and  Dane  and  Verona  townships  of  the  second  condition.  Where 
there  are  “fringes”  as  they  have  been  called,  of  families  which  do 
not  seem  to  fit  anywhere,  patience  and  tact  will  be  required.  Their 
interests  and  that  of  their  children  must  be  searched  out  and  ap- 
pealed to  until  finally  a sense  of  the  group  life  will  reappear  for 
it  is  there  even  though  hidden  for  the  time. 

Finally  in  the  matter  of  the  relation  to  the  village  centers, 
not  rated  in  the  five  service  class,  a problem  is  raised  which 


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will  have  to  be  postponed  until  another  year  when  the  character 
of  the  services  rendered  from  the  standpoint  of  this  organized 
community  group  can  be  studied.  It  is  probably  not  too  much  to 
say,  however,  that  before  so  many  years,  centers  now  giving  only 
very  limited  service  will  have  to  improve  their  kind  and  number 
of  services  or  stand  up  and  -show  cause  why  they  should  exist. 

Inter-Community  Organization  is  Necessary  for  Administra- 
tion Purposes.  The  third  relationship  under  this  section  re- 
mains. It  is  that  of  the  organization  arrangements  of  the  various 
integrated  community  service  groups  themselves.  The  very  brief 
word  on  this  relationship  would  seem  to  be  carried  in  the  Wal- 
worth county  story  told  above  and  which  could  be  repeated  for 
various  other  counties  in  the  state.  The  county  under  present 
arrangements  at  least  seems  to  be  the  administration  unit  for  a 
number  of  rural  organization  enterprises,  such  as  the  County 
Agricultural  Representatives,  the  Home  Demonstration  Agents, 
the  Farm  Bureau,  the  County  Supervision  of  Schools,  the  County 
Nurse  System,  and  the  County  Y.  M.  C.  A.  plan.  Some  scheme 
of  federation  of  the  local  work  or  community  units  can  serve  as  a 
decided  advantage,  and  this  will  come  as  the  community  rela- 
tionships of  group  and  groups  are  understood  and  become  the 
basis  for  social  progress. 

Practical  Implications 

For  District  Schools  and  High  Schools.  The  district  school 
has  been  distinctly  the  institution  of  the  rural  neighborhood.  With 
the  neighborhood  it  must  adjust  itself  to  changing  conditions. 
Many  districts  are  face  to  face  with  the  problem  of  maintaining 
an  efficient  school  with  limited  resources  and  with  only  a few  chil- 
dren in  attendance.  Buildings  and  equipment  also  need  replacing. 
The  inevitable  answer  is  consolidation. 

For  the  high  school  the  implication  passes  over  into  an  open 
challenge  for  in  the  real  sense  of  the  word,  the  farming  group 
does  not  have  a high  school.  Country  boys  and  girls  go  to  high 
schools  but  their  parents  do  not  participate  in  its  management 
since  their  farms  lie  beyond  the  legal  boundaries  of  the  district. 
One  superintendent,  not  of  Dane  county,  would  determine  upon 
the  distribution  of  the  schools  by  comparing  the  number  of  chil- 
dren with  the  square  miles  of  area  in  a county,  and  then  establish 
an  arbitrary  ratio.  The  present  study  would  indicate  that  such  a 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


79 


procedure  would  be  fatal  to  the  best  interests  of  education.  Group 
lines  should  be  taken  into  account.  The  community  high  school, 
where  the  area  is  not  too  great  or  the  center  too  large,  comes 
nearer  the  ideal.  The  farmer’s  voice  is  needed  in  such  a school 
to  give  it  the  vocational  emphasis  which  is  required,  for  unless 
the  farm  boy  or  girl  can  learn  to  love  and  respect  his  chosen 
work  he  cannot  stay  on  the  farm. 

For  Farmers’  Organizations.  In  Wisconsin  many  of  the 
national  farmers’  organizations  have  not  taken  the  neighborhood 
nor  the  community  units  into  consideration  in  their  organization 
plans.  The  Farm  Bureau  Federation  is  using  the  township  for  its 
unit.  One  organizer  argues  that  it  was  the  best  unit  because  it 
was  the  easiest  to  follow  and  because  “it  took  in  everybody.”  The 
farmers’  organization  maps  presented  above  indicate,  however, 
that  the  farmer  considers  the  area  surrounding  the  meeting  places 
as  the  unit.  Moreover,  as  one  travels  over  a township  said  to  be 
organized,  not  township,  but  group  organization  is  found.  The 
fact  that  one  group  is  organized  may  perforce,  mean  that  another 
in  the  same  township  is  not  organized.  The  two  groups  may  not 
be  compatible;  they  may  be  divided  by  natural  barriers;  the 
“traveled”  roads  may  lead  in  opposite  directions.  The  great  assets 
of  group  loyalty,  mutual  confidence,  and  local  leadership — all  so- 
cial products  of  group  life — are  sorely  needed  by  farmers’  co- 
operative organizations.  These  can  best  be  secured  by  utilizing 
the  neighborhood  and  the  community. 

For  Village  Commercial  Associations.  Village  and  city 
business  men  have  long  since  learned  some  of  the  lessons  of  group 
activity.  Sometimes  it  may  not  have  been  from  choice,  but  ne- 
cessity. Many  farmers  not  initiated  into  the  ways  of  “organized 
business”  are  suspicious  of  such  associations  and  some  maintain 
that  they  have  grounds  for  such  suspicions.  Whatever  may  be  the 
fact  in  the  case,  it  seems  hardly  probable  that  the  farmer  will  be 
won  over  by  being  offered  individual  membership  in  these  business 
men  s associations.  Nor  does  it  seem  likely  that  he  will  respond 
to  efforts  directed  toward  the  organization  of  farm  bureaus  as  ad- 
juncts to  Chambers  of  Commerce,  as  was  recently  attempted  by 
one  city  center.  Group  activity  of  his  own  is  rather  the  method 
which  the  farmer  is  at  present  disposed  to  employ  in  effecting  his 
bargaining  and  in  presenting  what  he  believes  to  be  his  rights 


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before  legislative  bodies.  All  this  by  no  means  precludes  the  pos- 
sibility of  the  business  man  and  farmer  working  together;  it 
rather  enhances  such  a possibility.  When  both  are  organized  they 
can  meet  on  equal  footings.  What  is  more,  as  has  been  shown, 
each  is  indispensable  to  the  other.  The  farmer  must  have  his 
service  station.  The  business  man  must  have  his  clientele. 

This  village  commercial  association  has  then  a real  place  in  the 
life  of  the  larger  community  unit.  It  has  a real  chance  to  perpe- 
trate its  own  interests  by  placing  its  services  at  the  disposal  of  the 
farmer  group  and  by  promoting,  not  exploiting,  the  resources  of 
the  landed  area  round  about. 

For  the  Rural  and  the  Village  Church.  The  case  of  the 
church  is  not  easily  stated.  It  seems  apparent  that  in  some  in- 
stances the  open  country  churches  are  losing  ground.  The  ten- 
dency seems  to  be  toward  a centering  in  the  small  hamlets  and 
villages.  In  the  county,  however,  a number  of  Lutheran  and 
Catholic  churches  offer  very  striking  exceptions.  In  the  larger 
centers  a discriminating  distinction  was  often  made  between  a 
farmers’  church  and  a business  and  professional  man’s  church  in 
the  same  city.  The  laboratory  map  indicating  the  parish  boundary 
for  each  church,  together  with  the  location  of  the  pastor’s  resi- 
dence, presents  a formidable  problem  of  overlapping  areas,  of 
inefficient  administration  and  of  neglected  fields.  These  smaller 
centers  and  their  rural  constituency  are  face  to  face  with  a lack 
of  economy  and  in  many  instances  with  a sheer  extravagance,  both 
in  the  distribution  and  size  of  their  church  plants  and  in  the 
inefficient  services  of  their  untrained  clergy.  No  one  who  is  fa- 
miliar with  conditions  at  all  would  argue  for  some  idealistic  plan 
of  complete  amalgamation  of  the  church  bodies,  for  the  reasons 
outlined  under  the  discussion  of  group  differences,  yet  the  eco- 
nomic pressure  if  nothing  else,  must  drive  certain  closely  related 
groups  to  a rearrangement  of  their  work  along  lines  of  neighbor- 
hood and  community  organization. 

For  Social  Welfare  Agencies.  The  county  will  doubtless  be 
the  administrative  unit  for  social  welfare  work  in  rural  districts 
for  some  time  to  come.  It  is  about  the  smallest  unit  which  can 
maintain  a financial  budget  of  sufficient  size  to  allow  the  employ- 
ment of  professional  services.  When  it  comes  to  the  working 
unit,  however,  whether  it  be  on  the  professional  or  the  voluntary 


Rural  Primary  Groups 


81 


basis,  the  neighborhood  and  the  community  group  arrangements 
must  be  taken  into  consideration.  As  in  the  case  of  farmers’  or- 
ganizations, local  loyalties  are  needed.  Group  opinion  is  essen- 
tial to  the  establishment  of  certain  standards  of  health,  for  ex- 
ample, as  well  as  for  the  enforcement  of  various  laws,  even  in 
such  matters  as  compulsory  school  attendance.  Headquarters 
may  be  maintained  at  the  county  seat  for  the  influence  of  such 
centers  is  marked,  yet  the  worker  will  have  to  cast  off  its  urban 
atmosphere  when  she  goes  into  certain  rural  groups  if  she  would 
have  her  services  effective  there.  Many  agencies  are  looking  to 
the  rural  field  but  thus  far  they  have  been  looking  through  city 
glasses  and  have  seen  only  the  larger  community  centers.  The 
smaller  groups  need  not  so  much  of  professional  help,  perhaps, 
as  they  do  the  discovery  and  training  of  local  leadership.  There 
is  need  for  recreational  activity  also  for  through  this  door  will 
be  welcomed  other  forms  of  health  and  welfare  work.  Local  cen- 
ters need  accommodations  and  buildings,  which  even  the  local 
farmer  can  feel  are  his  very  own.  In  a word,  then,  social  and 
welfare  work  will  succeed  as  the  local  units  of  society  are  rec- 
ognized and  are  made  to  feel  the  responsibility  of  being  the  source 
of  the  stream  of  social  life.  Growth  to  be  continuous  must  be 
an  indigenous  growth  with  roots  planted  deep  in  local  soil. 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Part  I. — Rural  Primary  Groups  and  Their  Discovery 3 

Importance  of  rural  groupings 5 

Rural  primary  groups  defined 5 

How  groups  were  discovered 6 

Mapping  the  groups 10 

Part  II. — Genesis  and  Tendencies  of  the  Groups . 11 

Historical  and  present  day  groupings  compared 11 

Influence  of  topography  and  vegetation 17 

Population  and  nationality  factors 22 

Source  of  group  names 29 

Part  III. — Group  Changes  and  Processes 31 

Group  changes  - 31 

Group  processes  33 

Part  IV. — Function,  Structure,  Form 37 

Functions — economic,  educational,  kinship,  government, 

nationality,  religion,  social 37-45 

Structure 45 

Institutions  46 

Form — Trade  area,  school  district,  family  circle,  town- 
ship, nationality  settlement,  church  parish,  social 
area  i 47-65 

Part  V. — The  Primary  Group  and  Rural  Organization....  66 

The  findings  summarized 66 

Conclusions  significant  for  rural  organization 67 

Practical  implications  for  social  institutions 78 


Research  Bulletin  52 


BUWRsm  of  «- 

SEP  3 

July,  1922 


The  Development  and  Winter  Injury 

of 


Cherry  Blossom  Buds 


R.  H.  ROBERTS 


AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  WISCONSIN 


MADISON,  WISCONSIN 


CONTENTS 


Introduction  . . 1 

Status  of  the  Problem 2 

Development  of  ti-ie  Blossom  Buds . 3 

Methods  .; 4 

Relation  of  Stage  of  Development  to  Killing 8 

Winter  Killing  of  the  Blossom  Buds 15 

Factor  of  Susceptibility 19 

Practical  Application ... . ....19 

Hardiness  of  Other  Meristematic  or  Embryonic  Tissues....20 

Summary  . 22 

Literature  Cited 23 


The  Development  and  Winter  Injury 
of  Cherry  Blossom  Buds 


With  a Consideration  of  the  Observed  Hardiness  of  Some 
Meristematic  Tissues 

WINTER  KILLING  of  the  blossom  buds  of  the  sour  cherry 
(Prunus  Cerasus)  may  be  of  sufficiently  general  occur- 
rence to  cause  a crop  failure,  either  on  individual  trees 
or  throughout  entire  cherry  producing  sections.  There  is  usually 
serious  injury  in  some  orchards  and  some  districts  each  year. 
The  failure  to  secure  a crop  of  cherries  in  Wisconsin  is  more  apt 
to  be  due  to  this  cause  than  to  any  other  common  trouble.  Appar- 
ently sweet  cherries  (Prunus  avium)  are  not  commercially  profit- 
able because  of  winter  injury  to  the  blossom  buds;  the  trees  grow 
well,  but  the  blossom  buds  are  usually  killed  during  the  winter 
and  the  trees  are,  consequently,  unfruitful. 

Studies  were  begun  in  1915  upon  the  prevalence,  occurrence 
and  nature  of  winter  killing  of  the  fruit  buds  of  the  sour  cherry. 
The  results  of  the  observations  made  during  the  first  two  years, 
upon  some  varieties  of  this  fruit  have  been  reported  previously 
(11).  At  the  time  of  that  report  it  had  been  determined  that  in 
general,  when  unequal  killing  occurred  in  different  varieties,  in 
different  trees  of  a variety,  in  different  parts  of  a tree  or  in  differ- 
ent blossoms  of  a bud,  the  extent  of  the  injury  seemed  to  bear  a 
direct  relation  to  the  degree  or  stage  of  development  which  the 
incipient  blossoms  within  the  buds  had  attained  at  the  beginning 
of  winter;  the  more  advanced  the  blossoms  the  greater  the  likeli- 
hood of  injury.  The  work  done  since  1917  tends  to  verify  this 
idea  as  to  the  relation  between  the  stage  of  development  of  the 
blossoms  and  the  extent  of  the  injury  due  to  low  temperatures. 
As  a result  of  the  present  work,  also,  it  is  thought  that  the  reason 
has  been  found  to  explain  why  the  stage  of  development  is  closely 
associated  with  winter  injury  of  the  blossom  buds.  Since  the 
injury  occurs  in  definite  regions  of  the  blossom  and  since  these 
areas  of  primary  injury  are  almost  wholly  confined  to  cells  which 
have  a large  central  vacuole,  it  is  concluded  that  this  vacuolated 
condition  of  the  cytoplasm  of  cells  in  these  regions  renders  them 
more  readily  susceptible  to  killing  (12). 


2 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  52 


If  the  stage  of  development  of  the  blossoms  and  the  presence 
of  a large  central  vacuole  are  both  related  to  injury,  it  should  be 
expected  that  vacuolation  would  be  found  to  be  characteristic  of 
a particular  stage  of  development.  This  is  in  general  the  case, 
although  some  notable  exceptions  have  been  observed.  For  ex- 
ample, blossom  buds  may  have  very  much  enlarged  flower  parts 
and  yet  have  but  few  cells  with  large  vacuoles  in  the  cytoplasm. 
Such  buds  are  relatively  very  hardy.  In  other  words,  suscepti- 
bility to  injury  is  more  closely  related  to  the  conditions  of  the 
cytoplasm  of  certain  cells  than  to  the  relative  morphological  devel- 
opment of  the  blossoms.  The  appearance  of  a large  central  vacu- 
ole is  taken  as  evidence  of  the  approach  of  maturity  of  the  cells. 
The  rate  of  maturing  would  be  materially  affected  by  the  nutri- 
tional and  growth  conditions  of  the  trees.  This  fact  gives  promise 
of  success  in  attempts  to  reduce  the  injury  through  cultural  means. 

• 

Status  of  the  Problem 

A variation  in  relative  hardiness  of  the  blossom  buds  has  been 
found  in  various  types  of  fruit  producing  plants.  Among  the  re- 
ports are  those  of  Miiller-Thurgau  (8)  and  of  Gladwin  (4)  upon 
grapes,  of  Whipple  (14)  relative  to  apples,  of  West  and  Edlefsen 
(13)  upon  peaches,  and  of  Goff  (5)  upon  cherries.  Garcia  and 
Rigney  (3)  have  shown  that  apple  blossom  buds  become  progres- 
sively more  tender  as  spring  development  takes  place.  This  is  a 
common  experience  and,  in  fact,  gives  rise  to  the  usual  idea  ad- 
vanced to  explain  the  reason  for  winter  killing  of  fruit  buds. 
This  idea  is  clearly  stated  by  Neilson  (9)  when  he  says : “The 
buds  (on  peaches  and  cherries  in  Ontario)  are  killed  by  extreme 
cold  or  through  starting  into  growth  in  mild  weather  and  being 
subsequently  frozen  in  cold  snaps 

There  are  indications  that  the  blossom  buds  develop  slightly 
throughout  the  winter  whenever  growing  temperatures  prevail. 
And  yet,  in  Wisconsin  at  least,  the  development  of  the  blossom 
buds  during  the  winter  season  due  to  intervals  of  warm  weather 
is  not  commonly  a direct  cause  in  rendering  the  cherry  blossom 
buds  more  susceptible  to  winter  injury.  Whatever  injury  may 
occur  appears  usually  relatively  early  in  the  winter  season.  For 
example,  initial  injury  occurred  during  the  nights  of  December  7 
and  8 in  1917,  January  3 and  4 in  1919,  and  on  January  4 and  5 
in  1920.  There  had  been  no  “warm  spell”  in  any  one  of  these 
seasons  to  start  the  blossoms  into  growth  previous  to  these  dates. 


Development  of  Cherry  Blossom  Buds 


3 


Chandler*  has  suggested  that  the  duration  of  the  winter  rest  period 
particularly  in  southern  parts  of  the  United  States  may  have  much 
to  do  with  susceptibility  to  killing,  at  least  in  the  case  of  peach 
buds,  because  the  buds  pass  the  rest  period  and  start  into  early 
season  growth  in  time  to  be  injured  by  spring  frosts.  The  occur- 
rence of  injury  in  Wisconsin  appears  to  be  little  affected  by  ques- 
tions of  winter  development,  unless  it  is  through  unknown  changes 
induced  by  low  instead  of  relatively  high  temperatures. 

Goff  (5)  suggested  that  the  mechanical  protection  of  the  bud 
scales  may  play  an  important  role  in  bud  hardiness  since  he 
observed  that  the  larger  buds  in  which  the  scales  are  somewhat 
separated,  are  more  tender  than  the  smaller  buds,  which  appear 
to  be  more  closely  covered  and  better  protected.  From  artificial 
freezing  experiments,  however,  Chandler  (2)  found  that  the  scales 
apparently  have  no  such  protective  function,  for  buds  with  the 
scales  removed  are  as  hardy  as  normal  buds.  Goff  likewise  con- 
sidered that  the  position  of  the  buds  on  the  tree  bears  an  impor- 
tant relation  to  hardiness.  He  found  the  most  extensive  damage 
to  occur  “on  the  most  exposed  parts  of  the  tree,  as  the  ends  of  the 
branches”  and  stated  that  “the  centrally  located  buds  (in  the 
trees)  were  decidedly  less  injured  than  the  outermost  ones.” 

On  the  basis  of  the  present  studies  during  the  past  several  years 
it  seems  probable  that  the  important  factor  concerned  in  winter 
hardiness  of  blossom  buds  is  not  the  protection  afforded  by  posi- 
tion, but  rather  the  less  advanced  state  of  development  of  the 
buds  on  the  spurs  in  the  shaded  inner  portion  of  the  trees  as  com- 
pared with  those  on  the  terminals.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that 
more  emphasis  should  be  placed  upon  the  state  or  condition  of  the 
blossom  tissue  of  the  buds  and  the  susceptibility  of  such  tissue  to 
injury,  than  upon  the  external  and  mechanical  conditions  sur- 
rounding the  buds. 

Development  of  the  Blossom  Buds 

When  it  became  apparent  that  the  extent  of  winter  killing  of 
the  blossom  buds  of  the  cherry  is  directly  related  to  the  degree 
of  their  development  at  the  time  when  excessively  low  tempera- 
tures are  experienced,  the  question  arose  as  to  what  might  be  the 
relation  between  the  time  of  initial  differentiation  and  total  devel- 


*Chandler,  W.  H.  Cornell  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.,  N.  Y.  Lecture 
Notes  1918. 


4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  52 


opment.  It  was  realized,  however,  that  the  rate  of  expansion 
after  differentiation  might  be  more  closely  correlated  with  the 
final  development  attained  at  the  beginning  of  winter,  than  might 
the  time  of  initiation  of  the  blossoms.  A study  was  subsequently 
made  of  the  seasonal  development  of  blossom  buds  of  Early  Rich- 
mond cherries  at  Madison  during  the  year  1917. 

It  had  been  found,  as  previously  reported,  that  there  are  marked 
and  consistent  differences  in  the  extent  of  the  killing  of  buds, 
directly  related  to  the  length  of  the  seasonal  growths  on  which 
the  buds  are  located.  The  hardiest  buds  are  on  spurs  (growths 
of  less  than  a half  inch  long),  somewhat  more  tender  buds  are 
borne  on  terminals  of  7 to  8 inches  in  length,  whereas  the  most 
tender  buds  are  on  terminal  growths  2 to  3 inches  in  length.  Fur- 
thermore, on  the  terminal  growths  there  are  differences  in  the 
degree  of  bud  hardiness ; the  buds  near  the  tip  are  most  hardy, 
the  buds  near  the  base  are  somewhat  less  hardy,  and  the  buds 
along  the  mid-portion  of  the  growth  are  least  hardy  (Figure  I, 
[3]).  The  following  series  were  used  in  making  a study  of  the 
development  of  the  “hardy”  and  “tender”  buds. 

A.  Buds  on  spurs  (0  to  % inch  in  length),  on  34  to  inch 
spurs,  on  1 to  2-inch  terminals,  and  on  7 to  8-inch  terminals. 

B.  Buds  at  the  base,  center  and  tip  of  1 to  2-inch,  4 to  5-inch 
and  7 to  8-inch  terminals. 


Methods 

The  buds  collected  during  the  season  of  active  vegetation  were 
fixed  in  the  field.  The  dormant  buds  were  taken  to  the  labora- 
tory and  the  tip  of  each  bud  was  cut  off  before  fixation  in  order 
to  secure  more  rapid  penetration  of  the  fixing  agent.  Chrom- 
acetic  fixative  was  used.  The  material  was  stored  in  70  per  cent 
alcohol  until  the  time  of  examination. 

It  was  not  necessary  to  imbed  most  of  the  material  since  free- 
hand and  hand  microtome  sections  mounted  in  glycerine  were 
satisfactory  for  the  study  of  the  stages  and  of  the  rate  of  develop- 
ment of  the  buds.  Approximately  2,500  buds  were  examined. 
The  following  system  was  used  in  determining  the  average  de- 
velopment of  the  blossoms : A number  of  buds  of  a series  were 
sectioned  and  glycerine  mounts  of  the  sections  were  made.  Dur- 
ing the  examination  of  these  preparations,  a chart  was  constructed 


Development  of  Cherry  Blossom  Buds 


5 


FIG.  1 — BLOSSOM  DEVELOPMENT 

(1)  Diagrams  showing  the  pistil  and  anther  development  of  blos- 
soms collected  October  15,  1917.  (2)  Sketch  showing  appearance  of  two 

blossoms  within  sectioned  buds.  (3)  From  three  to  five  blossoms  form 
in  each  blossom  bud.  Most  of  these  were  winter-killed  along  the  cen- 
tral and  lower  parts  of  the  4 to  6 inch  growths  in  1917.  (4)  Unequal 

development  of  the  blossoms  occurs  within  the  same  bud.  This  results 
in  unequal  hardiness  and  killing. 


6 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  52 


Figure  I [1]  to  show  the  range  in  development  of  the  vari- 
ous buds  on  a certain  date.  Comparisons  were  usually  based 
upon  the  appearance  of  the  floral  parts  in  samples  collected  on 
the  early  dates  and  upon  the  relative  size  and  form  of  the  parts 
in  samples  collected  later.  The  pistils  and  anthers  in  the  more 
advanced  blossoms  were  carefully  observed  for  the  appearance 
of  sporogenous  tissue.  After  having  prepared  a chart  as  illus- 
trated in  Figure  1,  additional  buds  of  the  same  series,  usually  to 
a total  of  fifty,  were  cut  longitudinally  and  examined  with  a bin- 
ocular microscope.  This  provided  a rapid  but  satisfactory  method 
for  comparing  the  relative  stages  of  development  of  the  blossoms 
(Figure  1,  [2]).  The  blossom  development  was  noted  and  re- 
corded in  comparison  with  the  diagrams  on  the  previously  con- 
structed chart.  Following  is  a typical  record  of  a series  showing 
the  number  of  blossoms  with  a development  equal  to  that  repre- 
sented in  each  respective  diagram:  Diagram  1,  1 blossom;  2,  10 
blossoms;  3,  27  blossoms;  4,  12  blossoms;  5,  0 blossoms.  As  the 
greater  number  of  blossoms  had  a development  corresponding  to 
that  shown  in  diagram  3,  a section  of  a blossom  at  this  stage  of 
enlargement  was  used  to  make  a drawing  to  represent  the  series. 
It  was  after  this  manner  that  the  camera  lucida  drawings  in  Fig- 
ures 2 and  3 were  obtained. 

The  time  of  differentiation  and  the  relative  rate  of  subsequent 
development  of  the  blossom  buds  of  Early  Richmond  at  Madison 
are  shown  by  Figures  2 and  3 and  Table  1. 

TABLE  1.— COMPARATIVE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHERRY  BLOSSOM  BUDS 

DURING  1917 

(Lowest  rating  shows1  greatest  development) 


Length  of  growth— Central 
used  for  comparison 

buds 

Buds  along  4-5  inch 
terminals 

<H4 

1—2 

4—5 

7—8 

Base 

Center 

Tip 

July 

9 

1 

# 

3 

* 

5 

* 

* 

* 

Aug. 

1 

3 

1 

2 

4 

5 

1 

2 

3 

Aug. 

24 -- 

4 

1 

2 

3 

5 

1 

1 

3 

Sept. 

8 

5 

2 

1 

3 

4 

2 

1 

3 

Oct. 

15 

5 

2 

1 

2 

4 

2 

1 

3 

Dec. 

5 

5 

3 

1 

1 

3 

2 

1 

3 

*Not  examined. 


Comparing  the  time  of  bud  formation  on  spurs  and  branches 
of  different  lengths,  the  earliest  differentiation  of  blossom  buds 
occurred  on  the  shortest  growths  (Figure  2),  the  appearance  of 


Development  of  Cherry  Blossom  Buds 


7 


FIG.  2— SEASONAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  BLOSSOM  BUDS 

These  are  camera  lucida  drawings  of  the  seasonal  development  of  the 
blossoms  within  the  buds  on  growths  of  different  lengths,  x 36.  The 
fourth  bud  from  the  base  of  the  growth  was  used  as  a sample  in  all 
cases. 


8 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  52 


blossom  primordia  in  the  buds  was  noted  on  medium  length 
growths  sowewhat  later  and  the  latest  differentiation  occurred  on 
the  longest  growths.  There  was,  then,  a direct  relation  between 
the  length  of  the  growth  and  the  formation  of  blossom  buds  upon 
it ; the  shortest  growths  being  first  to  form  blossom  buds  and  the 
longer  ones  being  last.  A different  relation  was  found  between 
the  amount  of  total  development  attained  by  the  blossom  buds  at 
the  beginning  of  winter  and  the  length  of  growth  producing  them ; 
the  greatest  enlargement  occurring  on  medium  length  growths  in 
this  case,  medium  enlargement  on  the  longest  growth  and  the  least 
enlargement  on  the  shortest  growths.  It  is  clearly  apparent,  then, 
that  the  time  of  initiation  of  differentiation  and  the  degree  of  de- 
velopment of  the  blossom  buds  at  the  beginning  of  winter  are  not 
correlated.  The  rate  of  development  appears  to  be  quite  as  im- 
portant in  this  connection  as  is  the  date  of  initiation  of  bud  for- 
mation. 

A similar  relation  between  the  elongation  of  terminal  growth 
and  blossom  bud  development  was  found  by  observing  the  devel- 
opment of  the  buds  along  terminal  growths  of  4 to  5 inches  in 
length.  The  blossom  buds  appeared  first  at  the  base  of  the 
growth,  next  along  the  mid-portion  and  last  at  the  tip  (Figure  3). 
The  greatest  total  development  of  the  buds  was,  however,  in  the 
mid-portion,  average  enlargement  was  found  at  the  base,  and  the 
least  enlargement  occurred  in  the  buds  near  the  tip. 

Relation  of  Stage  of  Development  to  Killing 

Data  were  collected  at  Sturgeon  Bay  in  May,  1918,  just  pre- 
vious to  the  blossoming  of  the  cherries,  to  determine  the  amount 
of  winter  killing  that  had  occurred.  It  was  desired  to  verify  or 
disprove  the  suggested  relationship  between  the  degrees  of  devel- 
opment of  the  blossoms  and  their  susceptibility  to  winter  injury. 
The  results  follow : 

The  injury  to  fruit  buds  during  the  winter  of  1917-1918  was 
very  severe.  Table  2 shows  that  killing  was  least  on  the  short 
growths  (spurs),  most  on  those  of  medium  length,  and  medium 
on  the  longer  terminal  growths.  Since  the  least  total  development 
of  the  blossom  buds  and  the  least  bud  killing  in  1917-1918  was 
found  on  the  shortest  growths;  the  greatest  amount  of  develop- 
ment and  the  greatest  killing  on  the  medium-length  growths ; and 
moderate  development  and  moderate  killing  on  the  longest  growths, 
it  follows  that  the  amount  of  killing  is  correlated  with  the  degree 
of  bud  development. 


Development  of  Cherry  Blossom  Buds 


9 


FIG.  3— SEASONAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  BLOSSOM  BUDS 

These  drawings  show  the  development  of  the  blossom  buds  at  the 
base,  center  and  tip  of  4 to  5 inch  Richmond  terminals.  Madison,  1917. 


10 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  52 


Ho. i- ioo.o fc 


FIG.  4— RELATION  OF  DEVELOPMENT  AND  KILLING  OF  RICHMOND 

BUDS 

These  drawings  show  the  relation  along  4 to  5 inch  growths.  Bud 
No.  1 at  base  of  growth,  Sturgeon  Bay,  Wis.,  Dec.  1,  1917.  Percentage 
of  dead  buds  determined  in  April,  1918. 


Development  of  Cherry  Blossom  Buds 


11 


TABLE  2.— RELATION  OF  LENGTH  OF  WOOD  GROWTH  TO  WINTER-KILLING 
OF  THE  BLOSSOM  BUDS,  STATED  IN  PERCENTAGE  DEAD 


Length  of  growth  in  inches 


Year 

Vs 

V* 

Vz 

% 

1 

2 

3 

4-5 

6-7 

8-9 

10-12 

14 

1918 

33.3 

57.7 

79.2 

84.6 

87.7 

86.4 

90.2 

91.6 

92.8 

91.7 

90.0 

79.2 

1917 

8.0 

35.71 

75.0 

32.13 

0.0 

1919 

19.4 

29.0 

6.7 

The  winter  killing  of  the  blossoms  of  lateral  buds  was  greater 
in  the  central  part  of  the  terminal  growths  than  at  the  base  and 
tip,  as  previously  noted  (11).  In  this  case  also,  degree  of  bud 
development  and  hardiness  were  directly  correlated ; the  hardiest 
buds  being,  in  general,  those  which  were  least  developed  (Table  3 
and  Figure  4.) 


TABLE  3.— LIVING  RICHMOND  BLOSSOM  BUDS  ON  FOURrINCH  TERMINALS, 

MAY,  1918. 


Bud  number  in  succession— base  to  tip 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

p 

7 

8 

9 

10 

End  bud 

Per  cent  living 

5.9 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0  : 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

11.8 

17.7 

78.6 

Av.  number  of  blossoms.  - 

2.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0  J 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

1.09 

2.38 

2.94 

Per  cent  vegetative 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

17.7 

Table  3 shows  that  the  less  advanced  buds  towards  the  tips  of 
the  growths  of  1917  were  hardier  than  the  more  advanced  bud  8 
along  the  base  and  center  of  the  growth.  The  end  bud  is  espe- 
cially hardy  since  63  per  cent  of  all  “living”  buds  in  May,  1918, 
were  near  the  tips  of  the  terminals.  These  buds  averaged  2.94 
blossoms  each  as  compared  to  2.18  blossoms  for  the  other  living 
buds.  Many  of  the  end  buds  were  leaf  buds,  containing  no  blos- 
soms. 

A number  of  cherry  varieties  grown  in  the  Sturgeon  Bay  dis- 
trict had  exhibited  each  year  quite  consistent  differences  in  bud 
hardiness.  This  was  also  true  of  trees  of  the  same  variety  grow- 
ing under  different  conditions.  Older  trees  generally  have  more 
tender  buds  than  young  trees.  This  difference  is  probably  a mat- 
ter of  difference  in  nutritive  and  vegetative  condition  and  has 
only  an  incidental  relation  to  the  age  of  the  trees.  In  general  it 
appeared  that  buds  on  trees  defoliated  by  the  shot  hole  fungus 


12 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  52 


FIG.  5 — RELATION  OF  DEVELOPMENT  AND  KILLING  OF  BUDS 

These  buds  are  of  different  varieties  or  from  trees  under  different  cul- 
tural conditions'.  Sturgeon  Bay,  1917. 


PLATE  I 

(1)  The  regions  of  injury  are  shown  by  the  dark  areas. 

(3)  to  (5)  Detail  of  injury  along  the  calyx  cup. 

(2)  x 122  and  (6)  x244.  Enlargements  of  normal  tissue  below  and  dis- 
torted tissue  above  region  of  initial  injury.  Buds  collected  Jan.  15,  1919. 


PLATE  II 

(1)  Shriveled  blossom  April  5,  1919  x 46. 

(2)  Injured  and  shriveled  ovule. 

(3)  Formation  of  an  abscission  layer  underneath  an  injured  blossom, 
April  25,  1919.  x 23. 

(4)  Dead  and  living  blossoms,  April  25,  1919.  x 11. 

(5)  Blossom  of  Governor  Wood.  Dec.  1,  1917.  x 46.  Note  the  large 
number  of  cells  with  large  vacuoles  in  the  vital  injury  region. 

(6)  Blossom  of  young  Montmorency,  Dec.  1,  1917,  x 46.  This  hardy 
blossom  has  practically  no  vacuolated  cells. 


PLATE  III 

(1)  Tender  Richmond  blossom,  Madison,  Dec.  4,  1918.  x 46. 

(2)  Injury  sometimes  occurs  lower  in  the  bud  than  the  blossom. 

(3)  Richmond  blossom  from  “check”  tree  of  cultural  plats,  1921.  x 46. 

(4)  Richmond  blossom  from  nitrated  and  pruned  tree  of  cultural  plats, 
x 4 6.  See  Table  V. 

(.5)  Montmorency  blossom  from  check  tree  of  cultural  plats,  x 46. 

(6)  Richmond  blossom  from  Illinois.  Note  the  few  cells  with  large 
vacuoles  considering  the  size  and  advancement  of  the  blossoms. 


PLATE  IV 

(1)  Cross-section  of  young-  shoot  of  plum  after  being  frozen.  The 
cambium  is  practically  intact  while  the  young  xylem  cells  and  phloem 
cells  are  badly  injured,  x 72. 

(2)  Injured  cherry  stem.  The  ray  cells  were  most  tender,  x 72. 

(3)  Normal  stem  of  apricot,  x 56. 

(4)  Frozen  stem  of  apricot.  The  young  xylem  cells  were  most  easily 
injured. 

(5)  Normal  stem  of  raspberry,  x 56. 

(6)  Injured  stem  of  raspberry,  x 72. 


Development  of  Cherry  Blossom  Buds 


13 


were  hardier  than  those  on  trees  which  retained  their  foliage  until 
late  in  the  season.  Practically,  this  is  not  desirable  since  early 
defoliation  often  results  in  tender  wood.  Hardy  buds  are  of  no 
advantage  if  the  branches  upon  which  they  are  borne  will  winter 

kill. 

Buds  were  collected  December  1,  1917,  from  representative 
trees  in  the  Sturgeon  Bay  district.  The  fourth  bud  from  the 
base  of  the  spur  was  taken  in  each  instance  in  order  to  provide 
comparable  material.  The  buds  were  fixed,  sectioned  and  ex- 
amined in  the  same  manner  as  described  for  the  other  series. 
Notes  on  the  winter  killing  occurring  in  the  field  were  made  in 
May,  1918.  The  relative  development  of  the  blossoms  of  the 
different  varieties  and  trees  and  the  corresponding  injury  is  shown 
by  Figure  5.  There  was  a consistent  relation  between  the  degree 
of  development  and  the  amount  of  killing.  The  buds  which  were 
furthest  developed  were  most  injured  and  the  least  developed  buds 
were  least  injured.  The  seasonal  variation  in  development  of  the 
blossom  buds  is  shown  by  Figure  6.  The  blossoms  were  much 
further  developed  in  1918  than  in  1917.  There  was  much  less 
bud  injury  in  the  winter  of  1918-1919,  however,  as  practically  no 
killing  temperatures  were  recorded  that  season. 

It  is  very  common  to  find  some  of  the  blossoms  within  a bud 
killed  and  the  remainder  apparently  uninjured.  This  difference 
in  hardiness  seems  also  to  have  a relation  to  the  development  of 
the  blossoms  (Figure  1,  [4]).  At  least,  the  individual  blossoms 
within  a bud  vary  in  development  and  where  killing  occurs  it 
seems  to  be  the  furthest  developed  blossoms  that  are  injured. 

In  order  to  determine  the  conditions  prevailing  in  other  locali- 
ties, buds  of  the  Early  Richmond  variety  were  secured  from  a 
number  of  states.*  Samples  were  procured  about  December  1, 
1917,  and  again  in  March,  1918,  in  order  to  secure  buds  before 
and  after  the  critical  season  for  winter  killing.  Material  was  re- 
ceived from  Illinois,  Indiana,  Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Missouri, 
New  Hampshire,  Oregon,  Quebec,  and  Wisconsin.  The  degree 
of  development  of  the  buds  about  December  1 and  the  amount  of 

* Appreciation  is  expressed  for  the  opportunity  to  study  the  injury 
occurring  in  other  localities  than  in  Wisconsin,  through  the  courteous 
forwarding  of  material  by: 

Dr.  C.  S.  Crandall,  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.,  Urbana,  111. 

Mr.  C.  B.  Blosser,  Goshen,  Indiana. 

Mr.  A.  J.  Rogers,  Beulah,  Michigan. 

Dr.  J.  K.  Shaw,  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.,  Amherst,  Mass. 

Mr.  Paul  Evans,  State  Fruit  Farm,  Mountain  Grove,  Mo. 

Prof.  J.  H.  Gourley,  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.,  Durham,  N.  H. 

Dr.  E.  J.  Kraus,  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.,  Corvallis,  Ore. 

Hort.  Dept.,  McDonald  College,  Quebec,  Canada. 


14 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  52 


These  variations  were  found  during  the  seasons  of  1917  (left)  and 
1918  (right). 


Development  of  Cherry  Blossom  Buds 


15 


killing  found  in  March  is  shown  by  Figure  7.  It  is  apparent  that 
in  these  cases,  in  general,  degree  of  development  and  amount  of 
killing  are  not  correlated.  One  reason  for  this  lack  of  correla- 
tion might  be  the  variation  in  the  minimum  temperatures  to  which 
the  buds  had  been  subjected  in  the  different  localities.  For  ex- 
ample, the  buds  from  Oregon  were  not  subjected  to  a killing  tem- 
perature because  of  the  mild  winter  climate.  All  buds  examined 
were  sufficiently  advanced  in  development  to  have  been  consid- 
ered as  being  susceptible  to  killing.  In  the  case  of  the  buds  from 
Illinois  there  is  clear  evidence  that  there  is  no  direct  relation  be- 
tween degree  of  development  and  amount  of  killing,  since  the 
buds  passed  almost  unharmed  through  temperatures  suffi- 
ciently low  to  have  caused  killing  even  though  they  were  far  ad- 
vanced in  development  of  the  floral  parts.  These  discrepant 
results  raise  the  question  as  to  what  the  condition  is  that  renders 
the  blossoms  susceptible  to  injury  if  degree  of  development  and 
amount  of  killing  are  not  always  directly  correlated.  A study  of 
the  tissues  in  the  regions  of  injury  led  to  the  discovery  of  what 
seems  to  be  the  important  factor  of  susceptibility,  and  made  it 
clear  that  all  the  observed  cases  of  relative  hardiness  of  greatly 
advanced  blossoms  can  be  related  to  the  type  of  tissues  present  if 
not  to  the  degree  of  development  in  each  case. 

Winter  Killing  of  the  Blossom  Buds 

A study  of  the  nature  of  the  injury  to  the  blossoms  began  in 
December,  1917.  Initial  killing  of  that  season  occurred  the  night 
of  December  7 and  8,  when  a minimum  temperature  of  -10°  F. 
was  reached.  Additional  injury  was  evident  after  a temperature 
of  -12°  on  December  28. 


TABLE  4.— TEMPERATURES  RESULTING  IN  BLOSSOM  BUD  INJURY,  DECEM- 
BER, 1917 


There  was  a drop  of  8°  F.  in  one  hour  on  the  7th  and  one  of  9° 
F.  in  one  hour  on  the  27th,  with  a total  drop  of  28°  F.  in  five  hours 
on  the  latter  date.  These  changes  in  temperature  are  rapid  when 


16 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  52 


considered  as  natural  phenomena,  although  they  are  quantitatively 
about  the  same  as  “slow  freezing”  as  the  term  is  used  by  Miiller- 
Thurgau  and  Chandler  in  their  experimental  work. 

There  was  no  injury  in  1918-19  until  that  observed  following 
temperatures  of  -14°,  -15°,  and  -23°  F.  on  the  nights  of  the  sec- 
ond, third  and  fourth  of  January.  Buds  brought  indoors  and  sub- 
jected to  room  temperatures  showed  injury  within  a few  hours, 
but  those  left  on  the  trees  gave  no  evidence  of  injury  until  Janu- 
ary 7.  Evidently  it  required  this  length  of  time  for  discoloration 
of  the  injured  tissue  to  occur  at  outside  temperatures.  The  mini- 
mal temperatures  on  the' fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh  were  -1°,  2°  and 
14°  F.,  respectively. 

There  was  little  injury  the  following  winter  until  the  tempera- 
ture of  -14°  F.  experienced  on  January  2,  1920,  although  -16°  F. 
was  reported  for  December  2,  1919.  In  general  it  would  appear 
that  injury  is  not  to  be  expected  until  the  temperature  reaches 
-10°  or  lower.  Ten  degrees  below  zero  was  the  critical  tempera- 
ture in  1921-1922;  there  was  no  injury  following  a temperature 
of  -6°  on  January  6;  from  5 to  6 per  cent  of  the  buds  showed  in- 
jury after  a temperature  of  -10°  on  January  22,  and  30  to  35  per 
cent  of  injury  was  found  after  -12°  was  registered  on  January  23, 
1922. 

Freshly  injured  blossoms  have  a watery  grey-brown  appear- 
ance when  the  tips  of  the  bud  scales  are  cut  away  as  is  done  in 
preparation  for  fixation.  Later,  the  injured  blossoms  have  merely 
a light  reddish-brown  to  black-brown  appearance,  similar  to  that 
characteristic  of  the  dead  blossoms  of  other  fruits,  such  as  peach 
and  plum.  Buds  having  all  or  some  of  the  blossoms  injured,  as 
determined  after  cutting  ofif  the  tip  of  the  bud,  were  used  for  fixa- 
tion and  imbedding. 

It  was  found  that  killing  agents  containing  chromic  acid,  such 
as  chrom-acetic  and  Flemming’s  solutions,  were  not  satisfactory 
for  use  in  fixing  the  injured  blossoms;  this  agent  frequently  dis- 
colors the  contents  of  some  uninjured  cells,  especially  those  which 
are  typically  subject  to  injury.  Material  fixed  in  chrom-acetic 
was  also  very  brittle  and  often  difficult  to  section.  A number  of 
killing  agents  were  tried.’  Picro-acetic  and  Juel’s  (zinc  chloride) 
were  found  to  be  satisfactory,  since  they  fixed  uninjured  tissue 
without  discoloring  it,  thus  leaving  the  injured  areas  clearly  dif- 
ferentiated. Formalin  alcohol  (2  per  cent  formalin  in  70  per  cent 
alcohol)  was  also  good  and  generally  gave  less  plasmolysis.  Juel’s 


Development  of  Cherry  Blossom  Buds 


17 


FIG.  7 — RELATION  OF  DEVELOPMENT  AND  KILLING 
Richmond  blossom  buds  found  in  different  localities  in  1917. 


18 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  52 


fixative  caused  considerable  plasmolysis,  especially  after  spring 
growth  started. 

Chloroform  was  used  as  a clearing  agent,  as  the  material  seemed 
less  hard  and  appeared  to  section  better  than  after  clearing  with 
xylol.  The  sections  were  usually  cut  at  from  7 to  9 microns  in 
thickness. 

Delafield’s  haematoxylin  was  mainly  used  as  a stain,  because  it 
did  not  color  the  injured  tissue,  produced  a strong  contrast  be- 
tween the  yellowish-brown  appearance  of  the  injured  cells  and 
the  purplish  blue  of  the  adjacent  uninjured  tissues,  and  sections 
stained  with  it  photographed  well.  Safranin  stained  the  injured 
tissues  intensely.  Gentian  violet  in  clove  oil  was  used  to  stain 
some  of  the  sections  which  tended  to  wash  off  in  aqueous  or  alco- 
holic stains. 

Examination  of  injured  blossom  buds  revealed  the  localization 
of  injured  areas  (Plate  I,  [1],  [2],  [3]).  The  region  in  which 
fatal  injury  most  commonly  occurs  is  the  pith  of  the  pedicel  of 
the  blossoms.  Injury  is  also  common  in  single  cells  or  plates  of 
cells  mainly  in  the  epidermis  or  first  layer  of  the  hypodermis  of 
the  calyx,  in  sepals,  and  petals  and  at  the  base  of  the  pistil.  The 
vascular  strands  were  noticeably  free  from  injury.  The  appear- 
ance of  injury  was  constant  in  buds  of  several  varieties  and  in 
material  from  a number  of  different  states. 

In  general  there  is  very  little  mechanical  injury  to  the  tissue 
(Plate  I,  [3]).  The  typical  injury  is  manifested  by  a discolora- 
tion of  the  cell  with  no  apparent  rupturing  of  the  cell  walls. 
Breaks  in  the  tissue  are  sometimes  found,  however  (Plate  I,  [4]). 
Following  this  initial  injury,  the  cells  of  the  tissue  surround- 
ing the  injured  cells  may  become  “shriveled”  and  distorted  with- 
out discoloration  (Plate  I,  [2]  and  [6]).  Since  the  principal  in- 
jury usually  occurs  in  the  lower  portion  of  the  blossom,  the  sub- 
sequent distortion  affects  the  entire  blossom  and  further  devel- 
opment is  checked.  After  growth  is  resumed  by  the  tree  in  the 
spring  an  abscission  layer  forms  underneath  the  injured  blos- 
som (Plate  II,  [3]  and  [4]),  and  the  uninjured  blossoms  present 
in  the  bud  continue  to  develop  to  full  maturity.  Injury  to  the 
sepals  or  to  the  pistils  does  not  necessarily  cause  the  death  of 
the  entire  blossom,  but  injury  to  the  pistil  generally  results  in 
degeneration  of  the  ovules  and  in  a consequent  failure  of  fruit 
development  (Plate  II,  [2]), 


Development  of  Cherry  Blossom  Buds 


19 


Factor  of  Susceptibility. 

One  condition  was  constantly  associated  with  the  appearance  of 
the  injury.  This  is  the  presence  of  a large  central  vacuole  in  the 
cytoplasm  of  the  cells  in  what  were  shown  to  be  susceptible  areas 
(Plate  II,  [5] ).  In  hardy  buds  there  is  little  of  this  type  of  tissue. 
(Plate  II,  [6]).  It  is  concluded  that  this  condition  of  the  cyto- 
plasm, or  the  physiological  conditions  attendant  upon  it,  consti- 
tutes the  factor  of  susceptibility.  Not  all  such  cells  were  injured, 
but  only  cells  of  this  type  were  found  to  be  affected.  That  is,  no 
cells  having  a uniformly  dense  cytoplasm  have  been  observed  to 
have  been  killed  by  cold. 

A large  amount  of  the  injury  in  1919  was  due  to  what  might  be 
termed  “bud  injury”  as  contrasted  with  “blossom  injury.”  That 
is,  instead  of  the  injury  being  located  in  the  floral  parts,  it  was 
found  in  the  base  of  the  bud,  below  the  point  from  which  the  blos- 
soms arise  (Plate  III,  [2] ).  In  appearance  as  well  as  in  location 
this  type  of  injury  would  appear  to  be  more  nearly  comparable 
to  wood  injury  than  to  blossom  bud  injury.  The  majority  of  dead 
buds  in  1919  were  at  the  tips  of  the  branches.  It  is  an  interesting 
fact  that  the  more  strongly  vegetative  and  later  maturing  trees 
of  a variety  bear  the  hardiest  buds.  Attempts  to  reduce  bud  in- 
jury by  keeping  the  trees  in  a vegetative  condition  might  result  in 
the  production  of  too  tender  wood  and  in  a loss  of  fruiting  sur- 
face, thus  defeating  the  purpose  of  the  treatment.  However,  this 
undesirable  possibility  seems  quite  remote  in  view  of  some  experi- 
mental results  that  have  been  secured.  Marked  increase  in  the 
hardiness  of  the  blossom  buds  has  been  secured  on  field  experi- 
mental plats  without  tender  wood  resulting. 

Practical  Application 

It  was  previously  mentioned  (p.  15)  that  the  extent  of  killing 
is  not  always  directly  related  to  the  degree  of  development  which 
the  blossom  buds  have  attained  at  the  beginning  of  winter.  This 
was  especially  noticeable  in  the  case  of  some  buds  received  from 
Illinois  (Plate  III,  [6]).  Examination  of  these  buds  showed 
that  they  were  markedly  free  from  cells  with  large  central  vacu- 
oles although  the  floral  parts  were  well  differentiated.  From  a 
practical  view-point  the  question  of  principal  interest  would  be 
how  to  reduce  the  amount  of  cytoplasmic  vacuolation  taking  place 
in  the  cells  of  the  blossoms.  The  appearance  of  vacuoles  accom- 


20 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  52 


panies  maturity  of  the  cells.  It  seems  significant  that  the  growths 
upon  which  the  hardy  buds  from  Illinois  were  produced  were  18 
to  20  inches  in  length  as  contrasted  with  the  much  shorter  4 to  8- 
inch  growths  of  wood  received  from  the  states  where  the  buds 
were  found  to  be  very  susceptible  to  killing. 

The  vegetative  condition  of  the  trees  as  influenced  by  cultural 
means  appears,  then,  to  have  a marked  influence  upon  the  matur- 
ity of  the  cells  of  the  blossom  buds  even  in  cases  in  which  equal 
development  of  the  floral  parts  occurs.  This  same  relation  be- 
tween the  cultural  treatment  and  cell  development  was  also  found 
in  buds  from  trees  in  different  experimental  plats  (Table  5). 


TABLE  5.— EFFECT  OF  CULTURAL  TREATMENTS  UPON  BLOSSOM  BUD  DE- 
VELOPMENT AND  WINTER  KILLING,  1920 


Variety 

Plat 

Percentage  of 
buds  killed 

No.  of  vacuo 
late  cells* 

Probable 

error 

difference 

Width  of 
blossom** 

Pistil 

length 

Richmond 

Check  _ 

64.0 

24.6—1.17 

8.6+1.24 

4.14 

1.96 

Nitrate  with  pruning 

19.5 

16.0—  .47 

9.4+1.31 

4.02 

1.98 

Younger  trees _ 

10.0 

15.2—  .58 

11.9+1.24 

3.42 

1.65 

Montmorency 

Nitrate  with  pruning 

1.0 

12.7—  .47 

* Maximum  number  in  a single  median  section  of  the  blossoms. 
f*  Graduations  of  an  eye-piece  micrometer. 


There  is  a very  consistent  relation  between  the  amount  of  injury 
and  the  number  of  cells  with  large  vacuoles  (Plate  III,  Figures  3 
to  5).  In  the  blossoms  with  many  vacuolated  cells  these  cells  ap- 
pear in  large  groups  rather  than  singly  or  in  small  groups.  While 
there  was  a large  difference  in  cell  vacuolation,  the  hardier  buds  on 
the  plat  on  which  nitrate  of  soda  had  been  applied  and  special  prun- 
ing had  been  done  were  practically  as  large  as  the  much  more  ten- 
der buds  on  the  check  plats  which  received  neither  fertilizer  nor 
pruning.  Little  information  was  secured  from  observation  of 
the  respective  cell  sizes.  The  vegetative  growth  of  the  check 
trees  was  less  than  that  for  the  other  plats.  The  “younger  trees” 
were  making  a very  long  annual  growth. 

Hardiness  of  Other  Meristematic  or  Embryonic  Tissues 

The  fact  that  the  presence  of  large  central  vacuoles  in  the  cells 
of  cherry  blossom  buds  seems  to  be  directly  related  to  suscepti- 
bility to  winter  injury,  leads  to  the  suggestion  that  in  general  those 
tissues  whose  cells  have  a dense  cytoplasm  may  possess  a rela- 
tively greater  degree  of  hardiness  than  those  tissues  whose  cells 


Development  of  Cherry  Blossom  Buds 


21 


while  still  relatively  young,  develop  large  central  vacuoles.  The 
frequently  observed  greater  resistance  to  cold  of  some  embryonic 
or  meristematic  tissues  would  bear  out  this  possibility.  A few  in- 
stances may  be  mentioned : 

(a)  Young  sprouts  of  potatoes  are  markedly  hardier  than  the 
older  tissues  of  the  tuber,  as  noted  by  Jones  (7).  Examination 
of  the  tissue  of  the  young  sprouts  shows  that  their  cells  are  smaller 
and  have  a more  dense  cytoplasmic  content  than  is  the  case  in  the 
older  tissues  of  the  tubers. 

(b)  Chandler  has  pointed  out  the  fact  that  young  leaves,  such 
as  those  of  lettuce,  are  hardier  than  the  older  leaves.  This  differ- 
ence in  hardiness  between  young  and  old  leaves  was  also  observed 
when  a defective  thermostat  permitted  a crop  of  lettuce  in  the 
local  greenhouse  to  become  partially  frozen.  The  young  resist- 
ant leaves  had  practically  no  intercellular  spaces  and  their  cells 
contained  a densely  staining  cytoplasm.  The  older,  more  tender 
leaves  had  a very  open  mesophyll  tissue  and  their  cells  had  a rela- 
tively much  vacuolated  cytoplasm. 

(c)  Injury  to  the  sapwood  of  fruit  trees  often  does  not  kill  the 
tree.  This  injury  is  usually  referred  to  as  injury  “of  the  cam- 
bium.” Carrick  (1)  has  rather  recently  stated  that  “the  cambium 
is  the  first  tissue  to  be  killed”  in  the  freezing  of  apple  roots.  This 
idea  would  not  seem  to  correspond  with  the  commonly  observed 
fact  that  injured  trees  regularly  regenerate  new  phloem  and  xylem 
and  many  times  grow  almost  as  if  uninjured.  Certainly  this 
would  not  agree  with  the  hypothesis  here  advanced,  that  the  cells 
with  dense  cytoplasm,  such  as  the  embryonic  cambial  cells,  are 
relatively  more  resistant  to  low  temperatures. 

Some  experiments  were  carried  out  to  determine  the  location 
of  “cambial  injury.”  Young  growing  shoots  of  several  varie- 
ties of  plants  were  subjected  to  temperatures  of  -9°  C.  in  a freez- 
ing chamber  in  the  early  part  of  June,  1918.  The  tests  were 
repeated  again  in  June,  1919.  The  stems  used  included  succu- 
lent growths  of  apple,  pear,  plum,  peach,  apricot,  willow  and 
raspberry.  It  was  found  that  the  most  tender  tissues  were  the 
young  xylem  and  the  medullary  rays  and  not  the  cambium.  In 
cases  of  more  severe  injury  cortical  parenchyma  and  phloem 
cells  were  affected.  Thus  the  cambium  often  remained  practically 
uninjured  between  the  two  layers  of  injured  cells  (Plate  IV, 
Figure  1).  With  some  plants,  such  as  cherry  and  raspberry, 
slight  injury  is  largely  limited  to  ray  cells  (Plate  IV,  [2],  [6]). 


22 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  52 


The  fact  of  injury  being  confined  to  those  cells  which  lie  close 
to  the  cambium,  but  not  including  the  cambial  cells,  would  ac- 
count for  the  “ring”  injury  of  apple  trees  pictured  by  Grosen- 
bacher  (6)  ; this  results  from  subsequent  cambial  activity  between 
injured  xylem  and  phloem.  Potter  (10)  has  since  found  the  same 
condition  of  relative  hardiness  of  the  cambium  and  of  older  ma- 
ture cells  in  apple  roots  which  have  been  injured  by  cold. 

Apparently,  then,  plant  tissue  may  have  three  stages  of  suscep- 
tibility to  cold  injury  during  its  life : 

1.  Relative  hardiness  of  embryonic  tissue,  previous  to  the 
appearafice  of  large  central  vacuoles  in  the  cytoplasm  of  the 
cells. 

2.  Tenderness  of  tissue  with  large  vacuoles  in  the  cytoplasm, 
presumably  filled  with  dilute  cell  sap. 

3.  Hardiness  of  older  or  secondary  tissues  as  seasonal  “ma- 
turity” is  attained. 

These  stages  would  have  varying  lengths  depending  upon  the 
season  and  growing  conditions  of  the  plant.  A perennial  woody 
plant  may  contain  all  three  of  these  types  of  tissue  at  one  time; 
the  first  type  could  be  represented  by  the  cambium ; the  second 
by  young  xylem  and  phloem  cells,  and  the  third  by  the  fully  de- 
veloped cells  of  the  mature  xylem.  Apparently,  then,  it  may  be 
that  only  relatively  small  regions  of  the  plant  are  primarily  con- 
cerned with  bud  hardiness,  such  as  a small  part  of  the  blossom 
in  a bud.  At  least  this  possibility  would  appear  to  be  in  harmony 
with  the  fact  that  rather  minor  variations  in  freezing  point  de- 
terminations and  analyses  of  plant  tissue  accompany  the  differ- 
ence between  hardiness  and  tenderness.  Thus  small  variations 
in  the  chemical  composition  of  the  plant  might  represent  large 
differences  in  the  condition  of  small  local  areas  and,  consequently, 
in  hardiness.  In  fact,  it  might  be  questioned  if  analyses  of  the 
whole  mass  of  tissue  of  the  plant  would  accurately  represent  the 
condition  of  the  very  limited  region  which  is  found  to  be  subject 
to  winter  killing. 

Summary 

1.  There  is  apparently  but  one  period  of  differentiation  of 
cherry  blossom  buds  in  Wisconsin.  This  is  in  the  early  part  of 
July. 

2.  The  rate  of  development  after  initial  differentiation  of  the 
floral  parts  and  not  the  actual  time  of  such  differentiation  gov- 


Development  of  Cherry  Blossom  Buds 


23 


erns  the  total  amount  of  development  of  the  buds  before  the 
winter  season. 

3.  The  extent  of  winter  killing  of  the  blossom  buds  of  the 
cherry  is  largely  in  direct  relation  to  the  amount  or  degree  of 
their  development  at  the  beginning  of  winter.  This  is  true  for 
the  several  varieties,  for  individual  trees  of  a given  variety,  for 
the  parts  of  an  individual  tree  or  for  the  individual  blossoms  in 
a given  blossom  bud. 

4.  The  condition  which  renders  the  more  advanced  buds  sus- 
ceptible to  injury  is  probably  the  presence  of  large  central  vacu- 
oles in  the  cytoplasm  of  the  cells. 

5.  Embryonic  tissue — having  dense  cytoplasm — is  relatively 
more  resistant  to  cold  in  some  plants  than  are  tissues  composed 
of  cells  with  large  vacuoles. 

Literature  Cited 

(1)  Carrick,  D.  B.  Resistance  of  the  roots  of  some  fruit 
species  to  low  temperature.  Cornell  Univ.  Mem.  36,  1920. 

(2)  Chandler,  W.  H.  The  killing  of  plant  tissue  by  low  tem- 
perature. Mo.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Res.  Bui.  8,  1913. 

(3)  Garcia,  Fabin  and  Rigney,  J.  W.  Hardiness  of  fruit  bud 
and  flowers  to  frost.  N.  Mex.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  89,  1914. 

(4)  Gladwin,  F.  E.  Winter  injury  of  grapes.  N.  Y.  (Gen- 
eva) Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  433,  1917. 

(5)  Goff,  E.  S.  The  comparative  hardiness  of  flower-buds  in 
the  cherry.  In.  Wis.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Rpt.  17,  1899. 

(6)  Grossenbacher,  J.  G.  Crown  gall,  arsenical  poisoning 
and  winter  injury.  N.  Y.  (Geneva)  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Tech.  Bui. 
12,  1909. 

(7)  Jones,  L.  R.,  Miller,  M.  and  Bailey,  E.  Frost  necrosis  of 
potato  tubers.  Wis.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Res.  Bui.  46,  1919. 

(8)  Miiller-Thurgau,  H.  Uber  das  gefrieien  und  erfrieren 
der  pflanzen.  II  Theil.  In  Landw.  Jahrb.  15:573,  1886. 

(9)  Neilson,  J.  A.  Winter  injury  to  fruit  trees.  In  Farm- 
ers Advocate,  March  20,  1919.  Address  before  Ontario  Fruit 
Growers  Association  convention. 


Especial  acknowledgment  is  due  Dr.  C.  E.  Allen,  of  the  botany  depart- 
ment, University  of  Wisconsin,  for  assistance  in  suggestions  as  to 
technique  for  study  of  the  injured  bud  tissue. 

Valuable  suggestions  and  criticisms  have  been  given  by  Dr.  W.  H. 
Chandler,  Cornell  University,  and  by  Dr.  L.  R.  Jones,  of  the  plant  pathol- 
ogy department,  and  Dr.  E.  J.  Kraus,  of  the  botany  department  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin. 


24 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  52 


(10)  Potter,  G.  F.  Root  hardiness  of  seedling  apples.  In 
Ann.  Rpt.  Wis.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  319,  p.  37,  1920. 

(11)  Roberts,  R.  H.  Winter  injury  to  cherry  blossom  buds. 
In  Proc.  Am.  Soc.  Hort.  Sci.,  p.  105,  1917. 

(12)  Roberts,  R.  H.  Winter  injury  to  cherry  blossom  buds. 
In  Ann.  Rpt.  Wis.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  302,  pp.  21,  22,  1919. 

(13)  West,  F.  L.  and  Edlefsen,  N.  E.  Freezing  of  fruit  buds. 
In  Jour.  Agr.  Res.  20,  No.  8,  1921. 

(14)  Whipple,  O.  B.  Winter  injury  of  the  fruit  buds  of  the 
apple  and  the  pear.  Mont.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  91,  1912. 


Research  Bulletin  53  ILUitUio  ‘July,  1922 

AUG  % 5 

The  Influence  of  Soil  Temperature 
on  Potato  Scab 


L.  R.  JONES,  H.  H.  McKINNEY  AND  H.  FELLOWS 


AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION 
OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 
MADISON 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Introduction 1 

Experimental  work  in  the  greenhouse 2 

Methods  2 

Soil  2 

Seed ' 2 

Pathogen 3 

Planting  4 

Manipulation  of  experiments 4 

Methods  of  determining  amount  of  scab 5 

Experiment  I 6 

Experiment  II 8 

Experiment  III  9 

Experiment  IV 10 

Experiment  V 12 

Results  14 

Experimental  work  in  the  field 16 

Temperature  apparatus  17 

Results  18 

General  observations  21 

Discussion  23 

Influence  of  soil  temperature  on  certain  organs  of  the  potato 

plant  27 

Underground  parts  28 

Above  ground  parts 31 

Summary  33 


Literature  cited 


34 


The  Influence  of  Soil  Temperature 
on  Potato  Scab 


L.  R.  Jones,  H.  H.  McKinney  and  H.  Fellows 

THE  COMMON" SCAB  of  the  potato  caused  by  Actinomy- 
ces scabies  (Thaxter)  Giissow  is  probably  the  most  gener- 
ally serious  potato  disease  of  America  and  with  continued 
potato  culture  on  the  same  soil  the  disease  seems  to  increase  stead- 
ily. Some  years  ago  the  senior  author  (3)  had  an  opportunity 
to  contrast  this  condition  with  the  situation  in  northern  Europe 
where  potato  scab  is  generally  a minor  disease,  in  many  sections 
practically  negligible,  in  spite  of  the  highly  intensive  culture  of 
this  crop  and  the  abundant  use  of  stable  manure  from  animals 
fed  on  cull  potatoes. 

This  difference  in  the  prevalence  of  the  common  scab  disease  in 
the  established  potato  districts  of  Europe  and  America  led  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  explanation  must  be  in  the  difference  in 
environmental  conditions  rather  than  the  accident  of  introduction 
of  the  parasite.  After  making  full  allowance  for  other  variable 
factors,  such  as  soil  reaction  and  moisture,  it  seemed  as  though 
temperature  variations  must  be  an  important  factor  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  disease.  Other  observations  have  tended  to 
strengthen  this  idea,  some  of  which  have  been  listed  by  the  senior 
writers  in  a preliminary  note  (5).  The  causal  organism  belongs 
to  a fairly  high  temperature  group,  as  first  shown  by  Shapovalov 
(9),  who  found  that  it  thrives  best  in  pure  culture  at  tempera- 
tures ranging  from  25-30°  C. 

In  order  to  determine  the  influence  of  soil  temperature  on  the 
development  of  scab,  an  effort  has  been  made  to  control  soil  tem- 
peratures experimentally  and  grow  potatoes  in  scab  infested  soil 
held  at  various  temperatures  over  a reasonably  wide  range. 
Trials  have  been  undertaken  in  both  field  and  greenhouse,  but 
thus  far  the  best  progress  has  been  made  in  the  greenhouse,  be- 
cause only  here  have  we  been  able  to  control  conditions  satisfac- 
torily. While  the  experimental  work  must  be  continued  upon  all 
aspects  of  the  problem,  sufficient  has  been  learned  to  justify  a re- 
port of  progress. 


2 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


EXPERIMENTAL  WORK  IN' THE  GREENHOUSE 
Methods 

Five  experiments  have  been  conducted  using  the  Wisconsin 
temperature  tanks  (4)  for  controlling  soil  temperatures.  All 
plants  have  been  grown  in  round,  galvanized  iron  pots  6 inches 
in  diameter  and  9^  inches  deep.  These  pots  were  surrounded  by 
the  water  of  the  temperature  tanks,  all  of  which  were  located  in 
one  greenhouse  where  the  air  temperature  was  kept  within  as 
limited  a range  as  possible  during  any  one  experiment.  Soil  tem- 
peratures were  maintained  by  heating  or  cooling  the  water  in  the 
tanks  by  means  of  electric  heaters  or  steam  and  cold  water  or  ice. 

Soil 

A rather  fertile  loam  soil  has  been  used  in  all  of  the  experi- 
ments. This  was  always  sterilized  by  live  steam  under  about  1 
pound  pressure  for  four  hours.  The  hydrogen-ion  concentration 
of  this  soil  after  sterilization  was  found  to  have  a Ph  value  of  7. 
The  moisture  content  of  the  soil  after  inoculation  and  planting 
ranged  from  18  per  cent  to  20  per  cent  (based  on  weight  of  water- 
free  soil)  in  the  various  experiments.  Both  of  these  conditions 
have  proved  favorable  for  the  development  of  the  disease. 

Seed 

A number  of  varieties  of  potatoes  were  tried  out  in  connection 
with  the  earlier  series  and  the  Irish  Cobbler  variety  was  found 
especially  satisfactory.  This  variety  is  highly  susceptible  to  com- 
mon scab ; it  has  a smooth  white  skin  upon  which  scab  lesions 
show  distinctly  and  it  develops  a large  number  of  tubers  in  a 
shorter  time  after  planting  than  any  of  the  other  varieties  tested. 

Owing  to  the  necessity  for  potato  seed  to  pass  through  a period 
of  dormancy  before  sprouting,  it  has  not  been  practicable  to  use 
northern  seed  in  experiments  started  in  the  autumn.  For  this 
reason,  early  grown  southern  seed  was  used  in  all  but  one  experi- 
ment. From  the  outset  of  the  work  it  was  planned  to  use  Cob- 
bler seed  from  the  same  source  (Warsaw,  N.  C.)  in  all  of  the 
work  and  this  was  done  in  the  first  three  experiments.  In  the 
fourth  experiment,  since  it  was  not  possible  to  obtain  this  Caro- 
lina seed,  use  was  made  of  some  of  the  same  variety  from  Madi- 
son County,  Illinois.  In  the  case  of  the  fifth  experiment,  which 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab 


3 


was  not  started  until  the  spring  period  of  the  year,  Wisconsin 
seed  (Cobbler)  was  used. 

All  seed  was  treated  at  least  two  hours  in  a 1-1000  solution  of 
mercuric  chloride  previous  to  planting  in  order  that  the  work 
might  not  be  complicated  by  Rhizoctonia  and  other  tuber-borne 
diseases. 

Pathogen 

In  all  of  the  experiments  reported  in  this  paper,  the  same  strain 
of  Actinomyces  scabies  was  used.  This  organism  was  isolated 
from  a scabby  potato  from  Door  County,  Wisconsin.  It  has  been 
increased  on  various  types  of  media,  but  it  has  always  been  car- 
ried in  stock  culture  on  potato  glucose  hard  agar. 

While  two  methods  of  inoculation  have  been  used,  only  one  has 
been  found  entirely  successful.  In  one  case  the  tubers  were 
grown  in  sterilized  soil  and  the  inoculum,  consisting  of  a water 
suspension  of  the  spores  and  mycelium  of  A.  scabies,  was  applied 
to  the  injured  and  uninjured  surfaces  of  the  uncovered  tubers. 
In  later  experiments,  however,  the  organism  was  increased  on  leaf 
mold  and  fine  cut  straw  and  added  to  the  sterilized  soil  at  the 
time  of  planting,  and  finally  it  was  found  that  very  satisfactory 
results  could  be  obtained  by  merely  adding  the  organism  in  a 
water  suspension  to  the  sterilized  soil  before  planting  the  seed. 

The  latter  method  consisted  in  increasing  the  organism  on  the 
surface  of  potato  glucose  agar.  After  the  organism  had  sporu- 
lated  abundantly,  the  surface  growth  was  removed  and  well 
macerated.  This  was  put  in  water  and  the  resulting  suspension 
of  the  organism  was  sprinkled  on  the  sterilized  soil.  A sufficient 
amount  of  water  was  used  to  bring  the  sterilized  soil  up  to  the 
required  moisture  content. 

Two  methods  have  been  employed  in  increasing  the  organism 
on  agar.  The  first  consisted  in  introducing  the  potato  glucose 
agar  medium,  containing  3 per  cent  agar,  into  Erlenmeyer  flasks 
to  a depth  of  ^ of  an  inch.  The  flasks  were  then  plugged  and 
sterilized  for  20  minutes  under  8 to  10  pounds  steam  pressure. 
Inoculations  were  made  before  the  condensation  water,  which 
collects  on  the  inside  wall  of  the  flasks  during  the  sterilization 
process,  was  absorbed  by  the  solid  agar.  The  condensation  water 
made  it  possible  to  prepare  a suspension  of  the  organsim  within 
the  flask.  This  suspension  was  then  well  distributed  over  the  sur- 
face of  the  agar  by  revolving  the  flask  at  the  proper  angle  to  en- 


4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


able  the  suspension  to  pass  over  the  whole  surface  of  the  medium, 
thus  giving  a uniform  growth. 

The  second  method  consisted  in  pouring  the  glucose  agar  into 
Petri  dishes.  The  agar  was  then  inoculated  by  spraying  the  agar 
surface  with  a water  suspension  of  the  spores  of  A.  scabies.  This 
method  can  be  used  successfully  when  a culture  room  or  other 
suitable  place  is  available  in  order  to  reduce  contamination. 

Soil  was  always  shoveled  and  screened  from  five  to  six  times 
after  the  addition  of  the  organism  in  order  that  uniform  distribu- 
tion might  be  obtained.  Soil  for  the  control  plants  was  always 
handled  the  same  as  that  used  in  the  inoculated  series  except  that 
the  organism  was  not  added. 

Planting 

The  seed  tubers  used  were  of  medium  size,  ranging  from  2 to 
3 inches  in  diameter.  Each  tuber  was  cut  once  through  the  stem 
and  eye  ends  and  one  piece  was  planted  in  each  pot.  The  seed 
piece  was  placed  6 inches  below  the  surface  of  the  soil  with  the 
cut  surface  down. 

Manipulation  of  Experiments 

Soil  moistures  were  adjusted  by  weighing  the  pots  at  frequent 
intervals  throughout  the  experiments  and  replacing  the  water  lost. 
At  the  high  temperatures  this  was  done  daily  or  oftener  if  neces- 
sary, while  at  the  lower  temperatures  it  was  done  less  frequently, 
depending  upon  the  conditions. 

In  practice  it  has  been  found  that  the  temperature  of  that  region 
of  the  soil  where  the  greatest  number  of  tubers  develop  remains 
practically  the  same  as  that  of  the  surrounding  water.  In  the 
case  of  the  first  three  experiments,  temperatures  were  adjusted 
three  times  during  24  hours.  The  water  in  the  tanks  which  were 
operated  above  18°  C.  (about  room  temperature)  was  raised  one 
degree  above  the  scheduled  temperature  at  the  time  of  adjust- 
ment, while  in  the  case  of  those  which  were  run  at  temperatures 
below  18°  C.  the  water  temperature  was  lowered  one  degree  be- 
low the  scheduled  temperatures.  This  method  allowed  for  a 
drop  of  one  degree  below  or  a rise  of  one  degree  above  the 
scheduled  temperature  during  the  eight-hour  period. 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  5 


In  experiments  III,  IV  and  V all  tanks  operated  at  tempera- 
tures above  15°  C.  were  equipped  with  electric  heaters  and 
thermostats,  which  made  it  possible  to  reduce  temperature  varia- 
tions very  materially. 

The  average  temperature  variation  in  any  of  the  tanks  was  less 
than  one  degree  centigrade  either  up  or  down  from  the  tempera- 
ture at  which  the  soil  was  intended  to  be  held. 

Methods  of  Determining  Amount  of  Scab 

Two  methods  have  been  used  in  connection  with  determining 
the  amount  of  scab  developing  at  the  various  temperatures.  One 
consisted  in  determining  the  relative  number  Qf  tubers  scabbed 
and  expressing  the  factor  as  a percentage  of  the  total  number  of 
tubers  produced  in  the  infested  soil  and  the  other  consisted  in  de- 
termining* the  relative  proportion  of  the  total  tuber  surface 
scabbed. 

While  the  first  method  is  the  one  which  has  heretofore  been 
used  most  commonly  for  determining  the  amount  of  scab,  there 
are  some  objections  to  it  since  it  gives  no  indication  of  the  sever- 
ity of  the  disease  on  the  tubers.  For  this  reason  it  was  consid- 
ered advisable  to  record  the  results  by  both  methods.  The  data 
secured  in  this  way  show  that  the  maximum  amount  of  disease  as 
expressed  on  a basis  of  the  number  of  tubers  does  not  always 
coincide  with  the  maximum  as  expressed  upon  the  basis  of  per- 
centage of  tuber  surface  scabbed.  This  brings  up  the  question 
as  to  which  of  these  factors  expresses  more  nearly  the  truth  as 
to  the  optimum  soil  temperature  range  for  the  development  of  the 
disease.  While  this  may  depend  to  some  extent  upon  point  of 
view,  the  writers  feel  that  it  is  not  possible  to  decide  this  point  at 
this  stage  in  our  knowledge  of  potato  scab.  It  may  be  that  the 
percentage  of  tubers  scabbed  expresses  more  nearly  the  optimum 
temperature  for  infection,  while  the  percentage  of  tuber  surface 
scabbed  may  express  more  nearly  the  optimum  temperature  for 
the  development  and  progress  of  the  disease  after  infection  takes 
place. 

In  determining  the  percentage  of  tuber  surface  scabbed,  it  was 
necessary  to  measure  all  tubers  and  determine  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible the  surface  area  of  each  tuber  developing  at  each  of  the 
temperatures.  After  this  process,  it  was  necessary  to  measure  or 
estimate  the  area  of  all  scab  lesions.  From  these  data  the  per- 


6 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


centages  of  scab  surface  were  determined  for  each  temperature. 
In  cases  of  doubt  this  work  was  done  by  two  people  working  to- 
gether and  independently. 

In  all  of  the  greenhouse  work  herein  reported,  it  is  believed 
that  all  factors  have  been  sufficiently  well  controlled  to  justify 
the  conclusion  that  the  differences  in  scab  secured  are  due  pri- 
marily to  the  recorded  variations  in  soil  temperature. 

Experiment  I 

This  experiment  was  started  November  8,  1918,  and  ter- 
minated January  25,  1919.  While  the  main  object  of  this  series 
was  to  determine  suitable  methods  of  inoculation  for  further 
work,  the  experiment  was  so  planned  that  some  results  might  be 
obtained  on  the  influence  of  soil  temperature  on  the  disease. 

The  soil  used  in  this  experiment  contained  18  per  cent  moisture 
based  on  the  weight  of  water-free  soil.  The  seed  was  of  good 
quality  obtained  from  North  Carolina. 

The  experiment  was  divided  into  two  parts  on  a basis  of  the 
method  of  inoculation.  One  method  consisted  in  inoculating  the 
soil  at  the  time  of  planting  with  50  cc.  of  a spore  and  mycelium 
suspension  of  the  scab  organism.  The  tough  leathery  surface 
growth  of  the  fungus  was  scraped  from  a thin  layer  of  agar  con- 
tained in  six  750  cc.  Erlenmeyer  flasks.  This  material  was  thor- 
oughly macerated  and  put  in  two  liters  of  sterile  water  and  thor- 
oughly agitated  before  applying  to  the  soil. 

The  second  method  of  inoculation  consisted  in  planting  pota- 
toes in  sterilized  soil  and  allowing  plants  to  grow  at  room  tem- 
perature (15-20°  C.).  When  tubers  commenced  to  develop  (7 
weeks  after  planting),  part  of  the  soil  was  removed  from  the 
upper  roots  and  tubers  of  the  plants.  When  the  tubers  were  lo- 
cated, they  were  inoculated  either  on  the  uninjured  or  on  a 
scratched  surface  with  the  sporulating  growth  of  the  scab  organ- 
ism. Soil  was  carefully  replaced  over  the  tubers  and  roots  and 
the  pots  were  placed  in  the  temperature  tanks. 

Four  temperatures  were  maintained,  12°  C.,  18°  C.,  24°  C., 
30°  C.  Three  inoculated  pots  and  one  control  pot  for  each 
method  of  inoculation  were  placed  at  or  reserved  for  each  soil 
temperature.  The  pots  in  the  soil  inoculation  series  were  allowed 
to  remain  at  18°  C.  for  a week  after  planting,  then  placed  in  the 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  7 

temperature  tanks.  The  pots  in  the  tuber  inoculation  series  were 
not  placed  in  the  tanks  until  after  inoculation  (7  weeks  after 
planting). 

On  January  25  (eleven  weeks  after  planting)  all  of  the  tubers 
were  removed  and  the  final  data  taken  upon  tuber  development 
and  the  amount  of  scabbiness. 

The  results  of  this  experiment  showed  the  superiority  of  soil 
inoculation  over  tuber  inoculation.  The  influence  of  temperature 
upon  the  development  of  the  tubers  and  plants  was  quite  marked 
in  the  series  which  was  carried  through  the  entire  period  in  the 
temperature  tanks.  In  the  case  of  both  series  there  was  a marked 
temperature  influence  on  the  development  of  scab.  In  the  direct 


SOIL  TEMP,  /n  DEGREES  CEtiT. 

FIG.  1.  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  SOIL  TEMPERATURE  ON  SCAB  IN  EX- 
PERIMENT I. 

Solid  line  represents  the  percentage  of  tubers  scabbed. 

Dotted  line  represents  the  percentage  of  the  total  tuber  surface  scabbed. 


tuber  inoculation  series  the  greatest  amount  of  scab  developed  in 
the  tank  held  near  24°,  but  owing  to  the  exceedingly  small  popu- 
lation of  tubers  these  data  are  not  included  with  the  rest  of  the 
scab  results.  In  the  soil  inoculation  series  the  largest  percentage 
of  scabby  tubers  were  produced  in  the  tank  held  near  30°,  but 
the  greatest  percentage  of  tuber  surface  scabbed  was  in  the  tank 
held  near  24°.  Reference  to  Table  I,  Fig.  1,  and  Plate  I will 
give  a clear  idea  concerning  the  development  of  the  disease  at  the 
different  temperatures  in  the  soil  inoculation  series. 


8 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


Experiment  II 

This  experiment  was  started  February  3,  1919,  and  terminated 
March  24,  1919.  In  this  series  seven  temperatures  were  main- 
tained, 12°,  15°,  18°,  21°,  24°,  27  °',  27-30°  C.  The  high  tempera- 
ture tank  was  operated  on  an  alternate  rather  than  a constant 
basis.  For  five  days  the  temperature  was  held  near  27°  and  for 
two  days  near  30°.  This  plan  was  followed  throughout  the  ex- 
periment ; a fair  development  of  tubers  was  obtained  from  the  ex- 
perimental standpoint. 

The  soil  moisture  content  in  this  experiment  was  18  per  cent 
based  on  weight  of  water-free  soil. 

The  inoculum  consisted  of  leaf  mold  cultures  and  a water  sus- 
pension of  the  spores  of  A.  scabies  added  to  the  soil  previous  to 
planting  the  seed.  The  seed  was  obtained  from  North  Carolina 
and  was  a part  of  the  supply  which  was  used  in  Experiment  I. 

Two  plants  were  grown  at  each  temperature  in  uninoculated 
sterilized  soil  and  with  the  exception  of  the  24°  temperature  six 
plants  were  grown  in  inoculated  soil  at  each  temperature.  In  the 
case  of  the  24°  temperature  two  of  the  plants  failed  to  grow, 
making  only  four  plants  in  this  tank. 

The  plants  in  the  tanks  held  at  temperatures  above  15°  C.  were 
removed  on  March  24.  In  the  case  of  the  12°  and  15°  tanks  one 
and  two  plants,  respectively,  were  removed  on  this  date  and  on 
account  of  the  slow  development  at  these  temperatures,  the  re- 
maining plants  were  allowed  to  develop  for  18  days  longer 
when  they  were  removed  from  the  soil  and  the  tubers  examined. 

The  results  of  this  experiment  were  much  the  same  as  those 
obtained  in  the  previous  one,  as  shown  by  Table  I and  Figure  2. 
There  was  a marked  temperature  influence  on  the  host,  which 
will  be  taken  up  later,  and  also  on  the  development  of  the  disease. 
While  the  disease  developed  at  all  temperatures,  the  most  favor- 
able one  was  near  24°  C.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  most  of  the 
tubers  from  the  12°  and  the  15°  tanks  were  not  removed  until 
18  days  after  the  removal  of  the  plants  growing  at  the  high  tem- 
peratures, very  little  scab  developed  in  these  two  low  temperature 
tanks. 

In  order  to  get  some  idea  as  to  the  influence  of  time  on  the  de- 
velopment of  scab  at  the  low  soil  temperatures,  most  of  the  po- 
tato plants  were  not  removed  from  the  12°  and  15°  tanks  until  18 
days  after  the  removal  of  all  the  plants  in  the  other  tanks.  At 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  9 


JO/L  TEMP,  in  DEGREE 5 CEHT. 

FIG.  2.  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  SOIL  TEMPERATURE  ON  SCAB  IN  EX- 
PERIMENT II. 

Solid  line  represents  the  percentage  of  tubers  scabbed. 

Dotted  line  represents  the  percentage  of  the  total  tuber  surface 
scabbed. 


the  end  of  this  period,  the  tubers  had  reached  sizes  equal  to  or 
larger  than  the  tubers  produced  by  the  plants  removed  earlier 
from  the  higher  temperature  tanks,  but  the  amount  of  scab  on 
these  tubers  was  very  slight  as  compared  with  the  amount  de- 
veloped at  the  higher  soil  temperature.  This  observation  indi- 
cates that  the  reduced  amount  of  scab  at  the  low  temperatures  is 
due  to  a direct  temperature  relation  and  not  altogether  to  the  de- 
layed tuber  development. 


Experiment  III 


This  experiment  was  started  January  20,  1920,  and  terminated 
March  20  and  21,  1920.  It  was  practically  a duplication  of  Ex- 
periment II.  The  amount  of  inoculum  used  was  reduced  slightly 
on  account  of  the  extreme  infection  resulting  in  the  previous  ex- 
periment. 

The  soil  contained  19  per  cent  moisture  based  on  weight  of 
water-free  soil.  As  in  Experiment  II,  seven  temperatures  were 
maintained,  12°,  15°,  18°,  21°,  24°,  27°,  and  28.5-30°  C.  The 
highest  tank  temperature  was  held  around  28.5°  until  March  8, 
when  it  was  decided  to  raise  the  temperature  to  30°.  This  was 
done  on  account  of  the  fact  that  there  was  very  little  difference 


10 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


between  the  development  of  these-  plants  and  that  of  the  plants 
growing  at  27°  C.  The  greenhouse  temperature  ranged  between 
15.5°  and  18.5°  C.,  about  3 degrees  lower  than  in  the  case  of  Ex- 
periments I and  II. 

The  results  of  this  experiment  are  shown  in  Table  I and  Fig.  3. 
These  results  are  in  accord  with  those  obtained  in  the  two  pre- 
vious ones  in  that  a marked  temperature  influence  was  obtained 
both  in  the  development  of  the  host  and  in  the  development  of  the 
disease.  While  the  disease  developed  at  all  temperatures,  there. 


/O  12  /4  IS  IS  20  22  24  26  26  30 

3 OIL  TEMP.  Ili  DEGREEJ  CENT . 


FIG.  3.  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  SOIL  TEMPERATURE  ON  SCAB  IN  EX- 
PERIMENT III. 

Solid  line  represents  the  percentage  of  tubers  scabbed. 

Dotted  line  represents  the  percentage  of  the  total  tuber  surface 
scabbed. 

was  very  little  at  the  extremes.  In  this  series  the  greatest  amount 
of  disease  developed  in  the  tank  held  near  21°.  This  is  a little 
lower 'than  was  the  case  in  the  previous  experiments.  The  exact 
cause  of  this  shift  in  optimum  is  not  known.  This  point  will  be 
taken  up  later  under  the  discussion  on  the  host  plant. 

Experiment  IV 

This  experiment  was  started  December  25,  1920,  and  termi- 
nated March  19  and  20,  1921.  As  in  the  previous  experiments, 
seven  temperatures  were  maintained  in  this  series,  but  there  was 
some  slight  modification  in  the  temperatures  at  which  the  individ- 
ual tanks  were  operated.  Tanks  were  held  near  the  following  tem- 
peratures, 11°,  14.5°,  18°,  21.5°,  25°,  28.5°,  and  30.5°  C. 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  11 

The  methods  used  were  essentially  the  same  as  in  Experiment 
III.  The  inoculum  consisted  of  a water  suspension  of  A.  scabies 
added  to  the  soil.  A considerably  larger  quantity  of  the  organ- 
ism was  used  in  this  experiment  than  in  the  previous  ones  for  the 
reason  that  it  was  feared  the  organism  might  have  lost  some  of 
its  virulence.  The  final  results,  however,  show  that  this  was  not 
the  case  and  a decided  over-infection  resulted. 

While  the  results  (Table  I and  Figure  4)  of  this  experiment 
show  that  soil  temperature  has  a marked  influence  on  the  disease, 
the  extreme  degree  of  infection  made  it  difficult  to  interpret  the 
relative  amount  of  tuber  surface  scabbed.  As  in  the  previous  ex- 
periments, the  disease  developed  at  all  temperatures  with  the 
least  amount  developing  at  the  extreme  temperatures. 


10  12  14  IS  /S  20  22  24  26  2Q  30 

JO/L  TEMP.  IM  DEGREES  CEUT . 


FIG.  4.  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  SOIL  TEMPERATURE  ON  SCAB  IN  EX- 
PERIMENT IV. 

Solid  line  represents  the  percentage  of  tubers  scabbed. 

Dotted  line  represents  the  percentage  of  the  total  tuber  surface 

scabbed. 

Taking  the  number  of  tubers  scabbed  as  a basis,  it  will  be  noted 
from  Table  I and  Figure  4 that  the  maximum  percentage  of  dis- 
eased tubers  developed  at  21°  C.,  as  was  also  the  case  in  the  pre- 
vious experiment ; however,  it  will  be  noted  that  the  greatest  per- 
centage of  tuber  surface  scabbed  was  at  18°  C.  This  shifting  of 
the  optimum  temperature  for  the  development  of  the  disease  will 
be  taken  up  in  the  discussion  of  the  temperature  tank  results. 
The  increased  rate  of  scabbing  shown  at  the  highest  temperature 


12 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


is  not  looked  upon  as  being  very  significant  since  only  two  tubers 
developed. 

Experiment  V 

This  experiment  was  practically  a duplication  of  Experiment 
IV  with  the  exception  of  a few  minor  details.  The  series  was 
started  March  23,  1921,  and  terminated  May  27  and  28,  1921.  As 
in  Experiment  IV,  seven  tanks  were  held  at  or  near  11°,  14.5°, 
18°,  21.5°,  25°,  28.5°,  and  30.5°  C. 

The  amount  of  inoculum  used  was  reduced  considerably  under 
the  amount  used  in  Experiment  IV  and  a considerable  reduction 
in  the  severity  of  the  disease  resulted. 


La. 

10  12  14  /6  16  20  22  24  26  23  JO 

JO/L  TEMP  //Y  DEGREEJ  CERT, 


FIG.  5.  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  SOIL  TEMPERATURE  ON  SCAB  IN  EX- 
PERIMENT V. 

Solid  line  represents  the  percentage  of  tubers  scabbed. 

Dotted  line  represents  the  , percentage  of  the  total  tuber  surface 
scabbed. 


The  results  of  this  series  are  shown  in  Table  I and  Figure  5. 
The  optimum  temperature  for  the  development  of  the  disease  as 
determined  by  the  percentage  of  tubers  infected  was  found  to  be 
at  or  near  24°,  while  the  greatest  percentage  of  tuber  surface  was 
scabbed  at  21.5°.  Plate  II  shows  one  fifth  of  the  tuber  popula- 
tion in  the  inoculated  pots  in  Experiment  V.  These  tubers  were 
selected  so  as  to  show  as  near  as  possible  the  true  variations  in 
the  development  of  the  tubers  and  in  the  amount  of  scab  at  the 
various  temperatures. 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  13 


Table  I — Tabulated  data  showing  the  influence  of  soil  temperature 
on  the  development  of  potato  scab  in  the  temperature  tank 
experiments. 


Experiment  I. 


Soil  temperature  *C. 

12 

15 

18 

21 

24 

27 

30 

11 

11 

10 

2 

0 

12.5 

43.0 

50.0 

0 

— 

.31 

11.7 

1.3 

/• 

Experiment 

II. 

Soil  temperature  °C. 

12 

15 

18 

21 

24 

27 

27  to  30 

No.  tubers  produced 

4 

40 

120 

146 

66 

180 

128 

Per  cent  tubers  scabbed  

0 

2.5 

54.1 

54.8 

97.0 

. 67.7  j 

42.1 

Per  cent  surface  scabbed 

0 

.0001 

14.5 

, 

27.4 

46.3 

15.0  : 

1.62 

Experiment 

III. 

28.5 

Soil  temperature  °C. 

12 

15 

18 

21 

24 

27 

to  30 

No.  tubers  produced 

S2 

80 

49 

46 

55 

58 

69 

Per  cent  tubers  scabbed  

28.0 

65.0 

61.6 

85.1 

50.0 

40.9 

25.3 

Per  cent  surface  scabbed 

2.7 

21.7 

18.5 

33.3 

5.5 

1.8 

8.6 

Experiment 

IV. 

Soil  temperature  °C. 

11 

14.5 

18 

21.5 

25 

28.5 

30.5 

No.  tubers  produced-  _ 

64 

40 

53 

49 

66 

28 

2 

Per  cent  tubers  scabbed 

32.8 

62.1 

57.6 

88.4 

70.0 

30.0 

50.0 

Per  cent  surface  scabbed 

1.88 

| 21.0 

1 

67.3 

49.2 

37.5 

3.1 

5.5 

Experiment  V. 

Soil  temperature  °C. 

11 

14.5 

18 

21.5 

25 

28.5 

30.5 

No.  tubers  produced 

26 

1 60 

42 

55 

93 

87 

33 

Per  cent  tubers  scabbed 

34.5 

40.0 

45.2 

65.4 

75.2 

64.3 

32.2 

Per  cent  surface  scabbed 

.12 

9.33 

31.7 

48.1 

28.1 

10.1 

.48 

14 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


Results 

Table  I includes  all  scab  data  obtained  in  the  preceding  experi- 
ments and  Figure  6 shows  the  average  of  all  these  data  graph- 
ically. While  the  results  have  shown  some  fluctuation  in  the  tem- 
perature optima  for  the  development  of  scab,  the  average  of  all 
experiments  indicates  that  while  the  disease  operates  over  quite  a 
wide  range  of  temperatures,  it  develops  in  greatest  abundance  at 
soil  temperatures  ranging  from  about  20.5°  to  23°  C.  (70-73°  F.). 
As  pointed  out  earlier  in  this  bulletin,  there  is  some  question  as 
to  which  factor  (percentage  of  total  number  of  tubers  scabbed  or 
the  percentage  of  total  tuber  surface  scabbed)  is  the  most  signi- 


FIG  6.  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  SOIL  TEMPERATURE  ON  SCAB  IN 
EXPERIMENTS  I,  II,  III,  IV  AND  V. 

Dotted  line  represents  the  average  percentage  of  the  total  tuber  sur- 
face scabbed.  „ . . _ 

Dashed  line  represents  the  average  percentage  of  tubers  scabbed. 

Solid  line  represents  the  average  between  the  percentage  of  the  num- 
ber of  tubers  scabbed  and  the  percentage  of  the  total  tuber  surface 
scabbed.  The  latter  is  probably  the  most  significant  curve  since  it 
takes  into  account  both  the  number  of  tubers  scabbed  and  the  degree 
of  scabbiness.  The  authors  are  therefore  accepting  this  as  the  basis 
for  their  final  conclusions  as  to  the  relation  of  soil  temperature  to  the 
development  of  potato  scab. 


ficant  in  expressing  the  amount  of  disease  developed  at  the  vari- 
ous temperatures.  However  this  may  be,  an  average  between  the 
curves  for  both  these  factors,  as  shown  in  Figure  6,  gives  an 
optimum  temperature  of  22°  and  it  is  this  temperature  which  the 
writers  are  considering  for  the  present  as  the  optimum  for  the 
development  of  the  disease. 

It  has  been  noted  in  this  work  that  the  temperature  optimum 
for  scab  development  has  shifted  from  time  to  time.  This  shift- 
ing seems  to  indicate  that  certain  aerial  factors,  not  so  well  con- 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  15 


trolled  as  the  soil  factors,  may  have  had  an  influence  on  the  de- 
velopment of  the  disease. 

It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  the  fluctuation  of  the  scab  tempera- 
ture optimum  in  the  several  experiments  is  more  or  less  corre- 
lated with  the  shifting  of  the  temperature  optimum  for  the  rate 
of  tuber  development  as  expressed  in  terms  of  the  average 
weight  per  tuber.  These  correlations  are  shown  in  Tables  I and 
V and  in  Figure  7. 


FIG.  7.  THE  TENDENCY  TOWARD  CORRELATION  BETWEEN  THE 
SOIL  TEMPERATURE  OPTIMA  FOR  SCAB  DEVELOPMENT  AND 
THE  RATE  OF  TUBER  DEVELOPMENT  IN  THE  FIVE  TEM- 
PERATURE TANK  EXPERIMENTS. 

Points  connected  by  the  solid  line  represent  the  temperature  optima 
for  scab  in  the  different  experiments. 

Points  connected  by  the  dotted  line  represent  the  temperature  optima 
for  rate  of  'tuber  development  in  the  different  experiments. 

The  rate  of  tuber  development  is  calculated  on  a basis  of  the  average 
weight  per  tuber  produced  at  each  soil  temperature.  The  soil  tem- 
perature giving  the  highest  average  weight  per  tuber  is  considered 
the  optimum  for  the  rate  of  tuber  development. 

The  tendency  towards  correlation  between  scab  development  and  the 
average  weight  per  tuber  suggests  that  scab  development  is  dependent 
on  tuber  development  and  that  rapidly  growing  tubers  tend  to  be  more 
scabby  than  those  which  develop  slowly. 


While  the  optimum  for  the  development  of  scab  did  not  fall  as 
low  as  that  for  tuber  development  in  Experiments  IV  and  V,  it 
will  be  noted  that  the  scab  optimum  seemed  to  be  influenced  by 
the  extreme  drop  of  the  tuber  optimum  in  Experiment  IV.  Ob- 
servations indicate  that  scab  develops  only  on  growing  tubers.  In 
all  of  the  work  carried  on  by  the  writers  scab  has  never  devel- 
oped on  any  seed  piece  planted  in  inoculated  soil.  In  the  case  of 
experiments  involving  the  application  of  inoculum  directly  to  the 


16 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


surface  of  developing  tubers  it  has  been  found  that  a large  per- 
centage of  such  tubers  never  develop  after  this  disturbance.  In 
all  such  cases  scab  has  never  developed  on  such  tubers,  whereas 
a large  percentage  of  inoculated  tubers  which  proceeded  in  their 
development  did  develop  scab  in  a greater  or  less  amount.  These 
observations  are  in  accord  with  the  results  obtained  by  Weiss 
and  Orton  (13)  in  connection  with  the  black  wart  disease  of 
potato,  and  there  is  also  considerable  evidence1  which  indicates 
that  the  development  of  scab  lesions  caused  by  V enturia  inaequalis 
on  the  fruit  and  leaves  of  the  apple  is  dependent  more  or  less  upon 
the  growth  of  the  host. 

The  tuber  development  and  disease  correlation  in  this  work 
suggests  that  rapidly  growing  tubers  are,  within  certain  limits, 
more  likely  to  become  severely  scabbed  than  tubers  developing 
more  slowly.  In  the  event  of  the  ultimate  verification  of  this 
relation,  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  understand  how  such  aerial  fac- 
tors as  light,  temperature,  humidity,  and  gas  balance  may  within 
certain  limits  influence  the  development  of  scab  through  a direct 
influence  on  the  above  ground  parts  and  thence  upon  the  tuber. 

In  the  experimental  work  involving  the  use  of  the  scab  organ- 
ism it  has  been  found  that  the  underground  bases  of  the  stems 
of  the  potato  plant  and  also  the  stolons  often  develop  severe  scab 
lesions  (Plate  III  D,  E)  which  usually  originate  in  the  lenticels. 
This  condition  seldom  occurs  at  soil  temperatures  below  24°  C. 
and  it  becomes  more  pronounced  as  the  temperature  rises.’  As  in 
the  case  with  tubers,  stems  are  clean  and  white  in  the  control  pots 
not  containing  the  scab  organism  (Plate  III  C).  Giissow  (2) 
has  also  noted  that  the  scab  organism  attacks  the  underground 
stems  of  potato  plants. 

EXPERIMENTAL  WORK  IN  THE  FIELD 
Methods 

Soil  temperature  influences  have  been  studied  in  a preliminary 
way  under  field  conditions.  In  this  connection  two  methods  have 
been  employed  in  studying  variations  in  soil  temperature.  One 
consisted  in  maintaining  three  soil  temperature  gradations  in 
small  plots  by  means  of  special  apparatus  and  the  other  consisted 
in  planting  inoculated  seed  at  intervals  throughout  the  season  in 

1 Unpublished  observations  made  by  G.  W.  Keitt.  of  the  Department 
of  Plant  Pathology,  University  of  Wisconsin. 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  17 

order  to  get  the  benefits  of  the  seasonal  change  in  temperature. 
While  the  first  method  has  given  fairly  good  satisfaction,  the  sec- 
ond method  has  not  been  successful  owing  to  the  long  period  over 
which  tuberization  takes  place.  During  these  long  periods  too 
many  changes  in  temperature  and  other  influencing  factors  take 
place,  thus  making  it  difficult  or  impossible  to  interpret  the  re- 
sults obtained. 

One  experiment  was  carried  on  with  soil  temperature  control 
in  field  plots  during  the  summer  of  1919.  In  this  experiment 
three  temperature  variations  were  maintained.  At  the  outset  it 
was  somewhat  of  a question  as  to  just  how  successful  such  a 
method  might  be,  and  it  was  recognized  that  the  undertaking  was 
largely  an  experiment  in  methods  of  temperature  control. 

Three  plots,  each  12  feet  long  and  9 feet  wide,  were  used  in 
this  experiment.  The  soil  was  a dark  rather  heavy  loam  which, 
as  far  as  known,  had  not  produced  a crop  of  potatoes  during  the 
past  9 or  10  years. 

Treated  Wisconsin  grown  Early  Ohio  seed  free  from  scab  and 
Rhizoctonia  was  planted  in  three  rows  the  long  way  of  the  plot. 
The  seed  trenches  were  3 feet  apart  and  the  seed  placed  14  inches 
apart  in  the  rows,  making  27  hills  per  plot.  In  each  plot  6 hills 
were  left  uninoculated  for  controls. 

Inoculation  consisted  in  dipping  the  cut  seed  in  a heavy  water 
suspension  of  Actinomyces  scabies  and  applying  the  suspension  to 
the  soil  used  to  cover  the  seed.  This  inoculum  consisted  of  15 
gallons  of  water  to  which  was  added  the  surface  growth  of  A. 
scabies  growing  on  about  200  square  inches  of  potato  hard  agar. 
The  inoculated  soil  was  well  mixed  and  put  back  in  the  trenches. 
The  uninoculated  seed  was  covered  with  uninoculated  soil  and 
due  precautions  were  taken  to  prevent  contamination  from  the  in- 
oculated portions  of  the  plot. 

On  June  3 the  plants  commenced  to  come  through  the  soil  and 
on  June  14  the  temperature  apparatus  was  installed. 

Temperature  Apparatus 

This  experiment  was  planned  from  the  standpoint  of  maintain- 
ing three  temperature  ranges.  Every  effort  was  made  to  main- 
tain one  plot  at  as  low  a soil  temperature  as  was  practicable,  one 
plot  at  a medium  temperature  and  one  at  as  high  a temperature  as 
possible  under  the  conditions. 


18 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


Low  temperatures  were  maintained  by  means  of  burying  one 
inch  water  pipes  just  under  the  surface  of  the  soil.  Three  of  these 
pipes  5 inches  apart  were  placed  on  each  side  of  each  row  of 
potatoes.  These  pipes  were  connected  at  one  end  to  a distributing 
pipe  and  the  opposite  ends  were  fitted  with  pet  cocks  which  could 
be  opened  or  closed  at  will.  This  pipe  system  was  connected 
. with  a large  coil  of  pipe  placed  inside  of  a well  insulated  box  con- 
taining ice,  which  was  buried  in  the  soil.  The  whole  system  was 
connected  with  the  local  water  mains  and  water  was  allowed  to 
pass  through  the  cooling  coil,  thence  through  the  soil  pipes  and 
out  through  the  cocks  in  the  end  of  each  pipe.  The  surface  of  this 
plot  was  insulated  with  sphagnum  moss. 

The  soil  in  the  medium  temperature  plot  was  merely  covered 
with  sphagnum  moss. 

The  high  temperatures  were  maintained  by  placing  hot-bed 
sash  close  to  the  surface  of  the  soil  in  one  plot.  Each  pane  of 
glass  was  lifted  lightly  at  the  over-lapping  end  so  as  to  allow  rain 
to  reach  the  soil. 

An  electric  thermo-couple  was  placed  4 inches  under  the  sur- 
face of  the  soil  in  the  center  of  the  middle  row  of  plants  in  each 
plot.  Temperatures  were  determined  and  recorded  at  7 a.  m.  and 
5 p.  m.  each  day  throughout  the  experiment  after  the  tempera- 
ture apparatus  was  in  place.  Figure  8 shows  the  daily  mean  for 
each  plot  during  this  period.  It  will  be  noted  that  up  to  July  15 
the  soil  temperature  of  the  piped  plot  tended  to  run  higher  than 
the  soil  temperature  of  the  plot  intended  to  run  at  the  medium 
temperature.  This  was  due  to  the  low  capacity  of  the  ice  box  and 
coil,  allowing  warm  water  to  enter  the  soil  pipes  and  actually 
raise  the  soil  temperature.  An  increase  in  the  capacity  of  the  ice 
box  and  coil  corrected  this  difficulty  and  the  temperature  curves 
remained  well  apart  thereafter.  Since  tuberization  had  not  taken 
place  to  any  extent  on  July  10,  this  temperature  irregularity 
doubtless  had  but  little  influence  upon  the  final  amount  of  scab 
recorded. 

The  tops  of  the  plants  were  commencing  to  die  on  August  24 
and  the  mature  tubers  were  removed  from  the  soil  shortly  after 
this  date. 

Results 

All  tubers  including  those  grown  as  controls  showed  a peculiar 
surface  checking,  the  exact  cause  of  which  is  not  known.  This 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  19 


same  condition  occurs  quite  often  in  certain  potato  districts  and 
it  is  considered  by  growers  and  others  to  be  caused  by  some  ab- 
normal soil  condition.  While  this  checking  made  it  more  difficult 
to  diagnose  scab  than  would  have  been  the  case  if  the  checking 
had  not  been  present,  it  was  possible  to  determine  the  typical  scab 
lesions  with  considerable  certainty.  In  some  cases  doubtful 
lesions  were  encountered.  These  were  recorded  separately  from 
the  pronounced  scab  lesions  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  their  abun- 
dance was  directly  proportional  to  the  amount  of  scab,  suggesting 
the  idea  that  they  were  common  scab  lesions  lacking  some  of  the 
typical  characteristics  or  similar  lesions  caused  by  some  other 
organism  present  in  the  soil1. 

Table  II  and  Figures  8 and  9 give  the  results  of  this  experiment. 
It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  amount  of  disease  increased  with  the  rise 
in  soil  temperature2.  The  greatest  amount  developed  in  the  high- 
temperature  plot.  While  there  was  some  difference  in  the  mois- 
ture content  of  the  three  plots,  it  is  considered  doubtful  if  this 
factor  altered  the  general  trend  of  the  curve  very  materially. 


Table  II — Results  Obtained  in  the  Field  Temperature  Plot 

Experiment. 


Mean,  soil  temperatures 
ior  July  and  August) 

“Low” 
19°  C 

“Medium” 
21°  C 

“High” 

25°  0 

No.  of  tubers  produced 

188 

232 

162 

Percentage  of  tubers  scabbed  — - 

6.25 

13.23 

30.55 

Percentage  of  tubers  with  doubtful  scab ______ 

0.00 

1.96 

22.9 

Percentage  of  tubers  with  Rhizoctonia  sclerotia 

41.8 

20.63 

19.13 

Preliminary  moisture  experiments  which  have  been  carried  on 
in  connection  with  the  development  of  scab  seem  to  indicate  that 
medium  soil  moistures  ranging  about  19  per  cent  (based  on  water- 
free  soil)  are  more  favorable  for  scab  development  than  moistures 
held  at  15  per  cent  and  at  26  per  cent  respectively.  In  the  case  of 
the  field  plots  under  discussion,  the  soil  in  the  low  temperature 
plot  contained  about  24  per  cent  moisture, , while  the  moisture 

1Wollenweber  (14)  has  shown  that  a number  of  species  of  Actinomyces 
are  pathogenic  on  potato  tubers  causing  lesions  which  differ  in  a number  of 
respects  from  the  common  scab  lesions  produced  by  A.  scabies. 

2 The  soil  used  in  this  experiment  contained  some  Rhizoctonia  infestation 
and  consequently  the  tubers  showed  some  Rhizoctonia  sclerotia  at  the  time 
of  digging.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  from  Table  II  that  the  greatest  amount 
of  Rhizoctonia  developed  in  the  low  temperature  plot  while  the  least  amount 
developed  in  the  plot  held  at  the  highest  temperatures.  These  results  are  in 
line  with  the  results  obtained  by  Richards  (8)  in  his  soil  temperature  studies 
on  potato  stem  injury  due  to  Rhizoctonia  solani. 


20 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  21 

content  of  the  soil  in  the  medium  and  high  temperature  plots  con- 
tained around  19  per  cent  and  16  per  cent  respectively.  On  this 
basis,  had  the  soil  in  all  the  plots  contained  18  or  19  per  cent  mois- 
ture there  would  have  been  slight  increases  in  the  amount  of  scab 
developing  in  both  the  high  and  the  low  temperature  plots. 

While  it  is  recognized  that  in  certain  respects  the  results  of 
this  experiment  do  not  carry  as  much  weight  as  those  obtained 
in  the  greenhouse  on  account  of  the  difficulty  encountered  in  con- 
trolling soil  moisture,  it  seems  justifiable  to  conclude  that  the 
difference  in  soil  temperature  in  the  three  plots  very  largely  ex- 
plains the  variations  in  the  development  of  scab.  In  any  case  it 
is  evident  that  these  results  which  are  based  on  mature  tubers  and 
fluctuating  soil  temperatures  are  more  nearly  comparable  to  field 
conditions  than  are  the  data  obtained  in  the  temperature  tanks. 
It  is,  therefore,  significant  to  note  that  in  their  main  features  the 
relations  between  temperature  and  scab  are  alike  in  the  two  series. 


GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS 

As  pointed  out  in  a preliminary  note  by  the  senior  authors  (5) 
field  observations  made  in  Europe  and  America  indicate  a greater 
prevalence  of  scab  in  regions  having  warm  growing  seasons  than 
seems  to  be  the  case  in  regions  where  cool  summers  prevail,  and 
likewise  a greater  amount  of  scab  seems  to  develop  in  a given 
locality  during  a warm  season  than  during  a cool  one. 

The  observations  made  by  the  senior  author  in  connection  with 
the  relative  scarcity  of  scab  in  northern  European  potato  districts 
led  to  an  examination  of  weather  records  for  these  districts 
These  examinations  revealed  the  fact  that  the  mean  temperature 
during  the  growing  season  in  northern  European  potato  districts 
is  considerably  lower  than  that  for  the  principal  potato  districts 
According  to  Orton  (6)  the  July  isotherm 

°,  _ F'  O8’3  C’)  runs  south  t0  the  principal  potato  districts 
of  Great  Britain  and  northern  Germany,  while  in  America  it  is 
only  in  Aroostock  County,  Maine,  and  parts  of  northern  New 
York  that  we  have  extensive  potato  culture  north  of  this  isotherm. 
According  to  Smith  (11)  the  July  isotherm  of  70°  F.  (21  1°  C ) 
practically  marks  the  southern  boundary  of  successful  main  crop 
potato  production  in  the  United  States. 


22 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


Orton  (7)  reports  that  scab  is  not  a serious  disease  in  the  Ber- 
muda Islands  and  in  correspondence  with  the  authors,  Prof.  E.  J. 
Wortley,  then  pathologist  of  the  Bermuda  Agricultural  Station, 
stated  that  very  little  common  scab  occurs  in  these  Islands  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  the  soils  are  highly  calcarious.  Upon  con- 
sulting the  temperature  records  of  Verrill  (12)  for  the  Bermuda 
Islands,  it  is  found  that  the  mean  monthly  temperatures  during 
their  main  potato-growing  season,  October  to  February,  run  from 
74°  F.  (23.3°  C.)  for  October  down  to  63°  F.  (17°  C.)  for  Feb- 
ruary. After  planting,  the  temperature  goes  down  rapidly  and  at 
the  beginning  of  the  period  of  tuber  formation  the  temperature  is 
very  close  to  67°  F.  (19.5°  C.)  or  below  and  steadily  going  down 
to  63°  F.  (17°  C.).  In  the  United  States  we  have  a complete 
reversal  of  this  temperature  and  crop  relation,  in  that  the  tem- 
perature steadily  rises  after  potato  planting  and  it  is  near  or  at 
its  height  during  the  period  of  tuber  formation. 

In  Wisconsin,  general  observations  show  that  potatoes  from 
the  Door  County  peninsula  are  freer  from  scab  than  tubers  grown 
in  other  potato  districts  in  the  state  despite  the  fact  that  potatoes 
have  been  grown  in  the  county  for  many  years  and  that  the  soil  is 
calcarious  in  origin.  Table  III  gives  the  monthly  mean  tempera- 
ture for  Sturgeon  Bay,  Door  County,  Wisconsin,  and  other  Wis- 
consin cities  located  in  the  chief  potato-growing  belt  of  the  state 
for  the  tuber  developing  months  (June,  July  and  August).  These 
data  show  that  Sturgeon  Bay  has  a lower  average  normal  tem- 
perature during  this  period  than  is  the  case  of  the  other  locations. 
Moreover,  the  chief  potato  district  is  in  that  portion  of  the  penin- 
sula lying  north  of  Sturgeon  Bay  where  the  summer  temperature 
will  average  somewhat  lower. 

In  Wisconsin  it  has  been  noted  that  scab  is  more  prevalent  cer- 
tain seasons  than  in  others.  John  Brann,  chief  inspector  of  certi- 
fied potato  seed  stock  in  Wisconsin,  found  that  scab  was  unusual- 
ly prevalent  in  the  state  during  the  seasons  of  1916  and  1921,  it 
being  necessary  to  reject  more  seed  on  account  of  scab  those  sea- 
sons than  usual.  The  records  of  the  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau  show 
that  the  summers  of  1916  and  1921  were  among  the  hottest  on  rec- 
ord for- this  state. 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  23 


Table  III — Normal  Monthly  Temperatures  for  Towns  Located  in  the 
Chief  Potato  Districts  in  Wisconsin. 

(Based  on  the  records  of  the  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau.) 


Cities  in  the  Wisconsin 
potato  district 

June 

July 

August 

°F 

•c 

°F 

eC 

°F 

•c 

Sturgeon  Bay  (Door  Co.) 

60.0 

15.5 

65.8 

18.6 

65.5 

Spooner 

64.2 

17.8 

68.7 

20.3 

65.9 

18.8 

Eau  Claire 

66.9 

19.3 

70.8 

21.5 

68.8 

20.4 

Minoqua 

63.6 

17.5 

67.2 

20.6 

64.1 

17.8 

Medford 

64.9 

IS.  2 

68.5 

20.2 

66.6 

19.2 

Oconto. . 

64.5 

18.0 

69.0 

20.5 

66.9 

19.3 

Waupaca 

64.7 

18.1 

67.6 

19.7 

70.6 

21.4 

Antigo ..  ... 

64.2 

17.8 

67.6 

19.7 

64.8 

18.2 

DISCUSSION 

As  pointed  out  earlier,  the  writers  are  mindful  of  the  fact  that 
all  factors  were  not  under  full  control  during  the  experiments 
reported  in  this  paper.  While  this  would,  of  course,  have  been 
highly  desirable,  it  is  felt  that  the  various  factors  were  sufficiently 
well  controlled  and  the  probable  errors  clearly  enough  evaluated 
to  warrant  the  conclusions  that  the  differences  in  scab  develop- 
ment here  noted  are  due  primarily  to  the  recorded  differences  in 
the  soil  temperatures. 

The  difficulty  of  rightly  comparing  the  influence  of  fluctuating 
field  temperatures  with  the  influence  of  constant  temperatures 
under  experimental  conditions  is  fully  recognized.  While  it  is 
possible  to.  calculate  a mean  temperature  for  a given  period,  it  is 
not  definitely  known  if  such  a mean  has  the  same  relative  influ- 
ence on  the  disease  as  a like  temperature  maintained  constantly 
over  the  same  period.  Naturally  many  things,  such  as  the  maxi- 
mum temperatures  and  the  duration  of  each  in  relation  to  the 
period  of  susceptibility  of  the  tuber  and  the  incubation  period  for 
the  disease  have  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  and  at  best  such 
a relation  becomes  exceedingly  complex.  However,  certain  ob- 
servations, in  addition  to  the  experimental  results  obtained  seem 
to  throw  some  light  on  the  situation. 

In  going  over  weather  records  and  the  available  observational 
data  on  the  seasonal  prevalence  of  scab,  it  is  found,  as  heretofore 
noted,  that  the  disease  is  more  prevalent  during  the  hottest  grow- 
ing seasons.  The  results  obtained  in  the  “constant”  temperature 


24 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


experiments,  however,  show  that  medium  high  soil  temperatures 
are  more  favorable  than  high  temperatures.  This  led  to  a com- 
parison between  the  mean  temperatures  for  the  hottest  seasons 
(July  and  August)  on  record  in  the  Wisconsin  potato  belt,  and 
the  “constant”  temperatures  maintained  in  the  tank  experimental 
work.  It  was  found  that  the  mean  air  temperatures  for  these 
seasons  ranged  close  to  23°  C.  and  in  the  case  of  the  month  of 
July,  1921,  the  hottest  month  recorded  in  late  years  at  Waupaca, 
Wisconsin,  the  mean  did  not  go  above  26°  C.  With  August  of 
the  same  season  reaching  a mean  of  21°  C.  we  have  an  average 
mean  air  temperature  of  23.5°  C.1  during  July  and  August,  the 
tuber  and  scab  developing  period  at  Waupaca.  It  will  be  noted 
that  this  figure  is  strikingly  close  to  or  within  the  optimum  tem- 
perature range  (Figure  6)  for  the  development  of  the  disease  ob- 
tained in  the  “constant”  temperature  experiments.  In  considera- 
tion of  these  observations  and  of  the  results  obtained  in  the  field 
temperature  experiments,  it  is  believed  that  the  medium  high 
mean  soil  temperature  of  a hot  growing  season  produces  essen- 
tially similar  comparative  results  in  scab  production  as  the  same 
temperature  maintained  constantly  throughout  an  experiment. 
Conversely,  it  seems  evident  that  the  scab  results  obtained  in  the 
temperature  tank  experiments’  are  a safe  index  to  the  relative  in- 
fluence of  soil  temperatures  on  the  development  of  common  scab 
under  actual  field  culture  conditions. 

While  scab  developed  at  the  low  temperatures  in  our  trials,  it 
seems  evident  from  Shapovalov’s  (9)  work  with  the  organism 
that  these  low  temperatures  are  not  as  favorable  for  the  growth 
and  increase  of  A.  scabies  in  the  soil  as  are  the  higher  tempera- 
tures. It  is  definitely  known  that  under  favorable  conditions  the 
organism  lives  for  long  periods  in  the  soil  and  it  also  increases 
readily  on  such  organic  materials  as  are  commonly  found  in  “po- 
tato soils”.  Shapovalov  (9)  reports  the  optimum  temperature 
for  the  growth  of  the  organism  in  pure  culture  to  be  between  25° 
and  30°  C.  The  writers  have  also  found  that  the  organism  grows 
best  within  this  range  of  temperature  on  agar,  also  leaf  mold  and 

1 Records  obtained  by  the  writers  show  that  soil  temperatures  in  un- 
shaded soil  at  a depth  of  two  inches  average  from  1 to  8°  C.  higher  than 
recorded  air  temperatures  at  the  same  location  in  mid-summer.  When  the 
same  soil  is  shaded,  the  temperature  is  approximately  the  same  as  the  air 
temperature.  In  a potato  field  we  have  the  latter  condition  and  soil  tem- 
peratures at  a depth  of  four  inches  (about  the  center  of  a potato  hill)  will 
average  from  1 to  2°  C.  below  the  air  temperatures  depending  upon  the 
condition.  It  is,  therefore,  reasonable  to  believe  that  the  mean  air  tem- 
perature of  23.5°  would  be  reduced  to  at  least  22  or  23°  C.  in  terms  of 
soil  temperature. 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  25 


straw,  hence  it  seems  reasonable  to  believe  that  soil  temperatures 
approaching  this  range  will  also  be  the  most  favorable  for  the  in- 
crease of  the  organism  in  the  field.  This  indicates  that  the  stimu- 
lating influence  of  high  soil  temperature  upon  the  occurrence  of 
the  scab  organism  will  be  cumulative  from  year  to  year.  It  seems 
very  likely,  therefore,  that  the  slight  amount!  of  disease  occurring 
in  cool  potato  districts  may  be  accounted  for  in  part  through  a 
reduced  amount  of  the  casual  organism  in  the  soil  as  well  as  on 
the  basis  of  unfavorable  temperatures  for  the  development  of  the 
disease.  Hence,  with  such  considerations  in  mind,  we  would  not 
expect  to  find  as  great  an  amount  of  scab  during  a year  of  favor- 
ably warm  temperature  in  a normally  cool  region  as  would  be  the 
case  in  another  locality  having  this  same  warm  temperature  for 
the  normal. 

These  studies  show  that  the  optimum  temperature  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  disease  does  not  necessarily  agree  with  the 
opitmum  for  the  growth  of  the  parasite  in  pure  culture.  Con- 
sideration must,  therefore,  be  given  to  the  temperature  relations 
of  the  host  as  well  as  of  the  parasite. 

Our  data  indicate  that  the  temperature  optimum  for  scab  lies 
between  that  for  the  rate  of  tuber  development  and  that  for  the 
growth  of  the  parasite  in  pure  culture,  being  somewhat  closer  to 
the  optimum  for  tuber  development.  This  general  relation  indi- 
cates that  the  development  of  the  disease  may  be  likened  to  the 
“resultant”  of  two  “forces”.  One  such  “force”  is  represented  by 
the  influence  of  certain  variable  factors  upon  the  host,  the  other 
by  the  influence  of  the  same  upon  the  parasite.  These  may  in 
some  cases  tend  in  like  direction,  in  other  cases  they  may  be  op- 
posed as  is  apparently  the  case  in  the  scab  disease. 

It  seems  very  probable  that  soil  temperature  may  in  part  ac- 
count for  the  irregular  results  obtained  in  much  of  the  seed  treat- 
ment work  for  scab  control.  Very  frequently  farmers  and  ex- 
perimenters report  good  results  from  certain  seed  treatments  and 
in  following  years  the  same  treatments  may  fail  to  control  the 
disease  on  the  same  soil.  Soils  containing  only  a moderate  in- 
festation of  the  scab  organism  would  not  produce  much  scab  dur- 
ing a cool  year,  whereas  a considerable  amount  of  the  disease 
would  be  likely  to  occur  during  a hot  year,  even  though  the  seed 
be  well  disinfected.  Of  course,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
other  influencing  factors,  such  as  soil  moisture  and  soil  reaction, 


26 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


also  play  their  part  with  soil  temperature  in  explaining  such  irreg- 
ular results  with  seed  treatments. 

There  is  some  indication  that  excessive  scabbing  in  certain 
early  varieties  may  in  part  be  due  to  the  fact  that  tuber  develop- 
ment in  such  varieties  takes  place  during  the  hot  part  of  the  sea- 
son. Preliminary  field  experiments  have  shown  that  varieties 
differ  considerably  in  their  habits  of  setting  and  maturing  their 

Table  IV — Data  Showing  the  Tendency  for  Scab  to  Be  More 
Prevalent  at  the  Stem  End  of  Tubers. 

Data  from  63  Scabby  Tubers  from  a Commercial  Bin. 

Location  of  infection  on  tuber  Percentage  of  Tubers 


Total  stem  ends  infected. 
Total  seed  ends  infected. 

Stem  end  only.—- 

Seed  end  only 

Central  portion  only 

General  infection  


85.4 

31.7 

46.0 

9.5 

22.2 

6.3 


Data  from  1380  Scabby  Tubers  from  Experiment  II,  III,  IV  and  V. 


Location  of  infection  on  tuber 


Percentage  of  Tubers 


Total  stem  ends  infected 63.2 

Total  seed  ends  infected 28.5 

Stem  end  only 29.1 

Seed  end  only — 4.6 

General  infection  18.9 


tubers,  thus  causing  variations  among  varieties  in  their  exposure 
of  growing  tubers  to  seasonal  variations  in  temperature.  Ob- 
viously, this  point  must  be  taken  into  consideration  in  work  deal- 
ing with  resistance  to  scab  in  order  that  the  purely  environmental 
factors  may  be  segregated  from  any  true  resistance  factor. 

In  this  connection,  it  is  of  interest  to  note  that  scab  tends  to  be 
more  or  less  localized  at  or  near  the  stem  end  region  of  the  tuber 
as  shown  in  Table  IV.  This  localization  has  been  noted  on  the 
experimental  tubers  and  on  tubers  from  commercial  lots.  In  the 
experimental  work  it  has  been  observed  that  the  localization  of  the 
disease  on  the  tuber  is  less  pronounced  at  the  optimum  soil  tem- 
perature for  the  disease  than  at  the  higher  and  lower  tempera- 
tures. The  explanation  for  this  segregation  cannot  be  given  at 
this  time.  It  may  be  suggested  that  the  tuber  is  more  susceptible 
to  infection  at  the  stem  end  than  at  other  points.  It  is  also  to  be 
noted  that  the  stem  end  of  the  potato  has  the  oldest  issue,  and  has 
thus  been  exposed  to  infection  longer  than  other  parts  of  the 
tuber. 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  27 


The  Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  On  Certain  Organs  of 
the  Potato  Plant 

In  connection  with  the  studies  on  scab,  it  should  be  noted  that 
the  host  plant  also  reacts  readily  to  variations  in  soil  temperature. 
It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  paper  to  develop  various  aspects 
of  this  phase,  but  it  is  pertinent  to  summarize  some  of  the  most 
evident  relations'  which  come  under  observation.  A limited 
amount  of  host  data  is  shown  in  Tables  V,  VI  and  VII. 


Table  V — Giving  Data  on  the  Number  of  Hills,  Average  Number  of 
Tubers  Per  Hill  and  the  Average  Weight  Per  Tuber  in  Grams 
Prom  the  Tank  Experiments. 


Soil  temperature  °0. 

12 

18 

24 

30 

. 

a. 

K 

No.  of  hills 

4 

4 

4 

2 

W 

Av.  no.  tubel-s  to  bill 

2.75 

2.75 

2.5 

1.0 

3.18 

7.34 

8.00 

4.75 

Soil  temperature  °C. 

*12 

*15 

18 

21 

24 

27 

27  to  30 

1 

2 

• 

No.  of  hills 

— 

— 

6 

6 

4 

6 

6 

5 

4 

w 

4 

20 

Av.  no.  tubers  to  hill 





20.0 

24.3 

16.5 

30.0 

21.3 

18 

16.7 

.75 

1.5 

Av.  Art.  per  tuber 

— - 

— 

1.S0 

1.12 

1.87 

.55 

.22 

1.9 

3.4 

■ 

28.5 

Soil  temperature  °C. 

12 

15 

18 

21 

24 

27 

to  30 

►— H 

e 

No.  of  hills 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

w 

Av.  no.  tubers  to  hill 

13.7 

13.3 

8.2 

7.75 

9.1 

9.75 

11.5 

Av.  wt.  per  tuber 

2.46 

4.54 

6.9 

7.46 

6.41 

5.32 

2.31 

Soil  temperature  °0. 

11 

14.5 

18 

21.5 

25 

28.5 

30.5 

>; 

6, 

x 

No.  of  hill9 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

5 

1 

w 

Av.  no.  tubers  to  hill 

10.7 

6.62 

8.87 

8.12 

11.1 

4.6 

2.0 

Av.  wt.  per  tuber__  

3.03 

8.9 

6.43 

6.2 

3.9 

.64 

1.5 

Soil  temperature  °C. 

11 

14.5 

18 

21.5 

25 

28.5 

30.5 

> 

a 

H 

No.  of  hills 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

7 

w 

Av.  no.  tubers  to  hill 

4.33 

10.0 

7.0 

9.16 

15.5 

14.5 

5.5 

Av.  wt.  per  tuber  

3.8 

7.02 

12. 85 

9.25 

4.71 

1.99 

.34 

•One  and  two  plants  were  removed  from  12°  and  15°  C.  tanks  respectively 
at  the  time  the  data  was  taken  on  the  plants  growing'  at  the  other  tempera- 
tures in  the  experiment ; these  data  are  represented  by  the  numerators 
while  the  denominators  are  the  data  for  the  remaining  plants  grown  at  12  and 
15°  C.  which  were  removed  eighteen  days  after  the  removal  of  the  plants 
from  the  higher  temperature  tanks.  The  numerator  figures  are  comparable 
with  the  figures  recorded  for  each  of  the  temperatures  above  15°. 


28 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


Underground  Parts 

T ubers 

Variations  in  soil  temperature  seem  to  have  less  consistent  in- 
fluence on  the  number  of  tubers  produced  per  hill  than  on  any  of 
the  other  host  activities  thus  far  observed.  However,  there  does 
seem  to  be  a tendency  for  the  greatest  number  of  tubers  to  de- 
velop at  15°  C.  and  at  25°-28°  C.  There  is  a reduction  in  the 
number  of  tubers  per  hill  at  the  intervening  and  the  extreme  tem- 
peratures. This  curve  tends  to  be  the  reverse  of  all  other  curves 
representing  the  plant  activities  observed  in  this  work. 

The  size  of  tubers  is  influenced  considerably  by  variations  in 
soil  temperature.  During  the  period  involved  in  the  various  tank 
experiments,  the  largest  tubers  were  produced  at  soil  tempera- 
tures ranging  from  15°  to  22°  C.  with  the  optimum  at  or  near 
18°  C.  However,  when  plants  are  allowed  to  develop  beyond  the 
period  of  the  main  experiment,  as  was  the  case  with  the  plants 
held  at  12°  and  15°  C.  in  Experiment  II,  the  tubers  progress  rap- 
idly and  increase  in  size  as  shown  in  Table  V.  It  will  not  be  sur- 
prising to  find  that  the  optimum  soil  temperature  .for  mature 
tuber  development  is  somewhat  lower  than  just  indicated,  when  a 
complete  series  can  be  carried  through  to  maturity. 

Observations  have  not  been  made  to  determine  the  soil  tem- 
peratures at  which  tubers  commence  to  set  first,  but  it  is  believed 
that  this  takes  place  at  the  temperatures  which  favor  early  sprout- 
ing and  the  emergence  of  the  sprouts  from  the  soil.  The  indica- 
tions are  that  the  optimum  temperature  for  the  early  setting  of 
tubers  is  somewhat  higher  than  the  optimum  for  a yield  of  large 
tubers. 

The  shape  of  tubers  is  influenced  to  a considerable  extent  by 

Table  VI — The  Ratio  of  Width  to  Length  in  Tubers  Grown  at 
Different  Soil  Temperatures. 


These  data  are  based  on  measurements  made  on  the  whole  population  of  Experi- 
ment V.1 


Soil  temperature  *C. 

11 

14.5 

18 

21.5 

25 

28.5  , 

30.5 

Ratio  of  tuber  width  to  length. 

1:0.9 

1:1.02 

1:1 

1:1.12 

1:1.14 

1:1.25  ' 

l:l.6 

1 The  Irish  Cobbler  seed  used  in  this  work  was  typical  of  the  variety 
which  tends  towards  the  globular  shape.  Most  of  the  tubers  were  prac- 
tically circular  in  the  cross  section  intersecting  the  stem  and  bud  axis  at 
right  angles,  and  for  this  reason  width  is  designated  as  a single  factor  in 
Table  VI. 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  29 

soil  temperatures  as  shown  in  Plates  I,  II  and  IV.  At  low  soil 
temperatures  the  length  of  Irish  Cobbler  tubers  is  less  along  the 
stem-bud  axis  than  along  the  transverse  axis,  while  at  the  higher 
temperatures  the  stem-bud  is  much  the  longer  and  tubers  tend  to 
become  egg  or  pear  shaped,  as  shown  in  Plates  I,  II  and  IV.  Ac- 
tual measurements  made  on  the  population  of  a complete  temper- 
ature series  show  that  the  ratio  of  the  width  to  the  length  of 
tubers  grown  at  11°  C<  is  about  1 :0.9,  while  at  temperatures  near 
30°  C.  this  ratio  approximates  1 : 1 .6.  The  ratios  developed  at  the 
intervening  temperatures  gradually  approach  the  latter  ratio  as 
the  temperature  rises  forming  a rather  regular  curve  as  is  shown 
by  the  data  in  Table  VI. 

Fitch  (1)  has  noted  that  under  certain  conditions  potato  tubers 
tend  to  elongate  and  develop  the  pear  shape.  He  associates  this 
condition  with  drouth,  the  “running  out”  of  seed  stock  and  sea- 
sonal conditions.  While  factors  other  than  soil  temperature  may 
influence  the  proportional  dimensions  of  tubers,  the  results  herein 
recorded  show  definitely  that  soil  temperature  is  an  important 
factor  in  determining  tuber  shape,  a point  which  is  of  economic 
interest  to  growers  who  produce  exhibition  seed  stock. 

It  is  a matter  of  common  observation  that  lenticel  development 
on  potato  tubers  is  stimulated  by  certain  moisture  conditions. 
In  these  experiments  where  soil  moisture  was  kept  approximate- 
ly uniform,  it  has  been  found  that  lenticel  character  has  also  been 
influenced  considerably  by  soil  temperature.  These  organs  have 
not  been  conspicuous  on  tubers  developed  at  low  soil  tempera- 
tures, but  have  become  large  and  protruding  at  the  high  tem- 
peratures. An  evident  suggestion  is  that  their  relative  develop- 
ment may  be  associated  with  respiratory  metabolism. 

The  influence  of  soil  temperature  upon  the  chemical  composi- 
tion of  the  tuber  has  not  been  a matter  of  direct  inquiry  in  con- 
nection with  this  work.  It  may  be  assumed  that  the  composition 
is  so  influenced  and  a type  of  evidence  that  bears  upon  this  de- 
serves record.  In  Plate  V is  shown  a complete  temperature 
series  of  tubers  grown  in  uninoculated  soil.  These  tubers  were 
photographed  after  storage  in  70  per  cent  ethyl  alcohol  for 
five  months  after  their  removal  from  the  soil.  The  tubers  pro- 
duced at  the  low  temperatures  are  jet  black  in  color,  whereas 
those  grown  at  the  medium  temperatures  show  practically  no  dis- 
coloration. At  30°  C.  the  tubers  show  a slight  darkening,  but  to 


30 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


Table  VII — Data  Showing  the  Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on 
Certain  Host  Developments. 

These  data  are  the  average  of  the  results  from  experiments  II,  III,  IV  and  V. 
All  data  are  based  on  determinations  made  at  the  close  of  each  experiment. 

All  weights  are  in  grams  and  linear  measurements  in  centimeters. 


Soil  temp,  degrees  O.* 

H 

12 

14.5  . 
15 

18 

21 

21.5 

24 

25 

27  | 

28.5 

27 

30.5 

Av.  No.  of  tubers  in  inoc.  hills 

8.2 

12.5 

11.2 

12.5 

12.8 

14.4 

10.2 

Av.  Wt.  of  tubers  per  hill 

22 

42.7 

50.0 

54.2 

51.0 

25.0 

9.5 

Av.  Wt.  per  tuber 

2.55 

5.44  : 

7.0 

6.0 

4.2 

2.1 

.80 

Above  ground  parts 

Av.  Wt.  of  green  tops  per  hill 

(Exp.  IV  and  V) 

55.1 

77.0 

82.2 

89.0 

87.0 

70.0 

50.0 

Av.  No.  of  stems  per  hill  (Exp. 

II,  III,  IV  and  V) 

Av.  height  of  stems  per  hill 

2.8 

3.6 

4.2 

4.6 

4.0 

3.21 

2.8 

Exp.  II,  m,  IV  and  V) 

22.0 

23.0 

22.0 

23.5 

25.0 

30.2 

14.0 

Av.  diam.  of  stems  (Exp.V)—' 
Av.  No.  days  for  plants  to 

7.1 

8.5 

7.9 

7.7 

6.7 

3.9 

j 3.3 

come  through  soil  (Exp.  Ill, 
IV  and  V) 

23.0 

17.5 

14.5 

! 

12.8 

12.8 

16.5 

24.6 

a less  degree  than  is  the  case  with  the  tubers  produced  at  the  low 
temperatures.  The  black  coloration  suggests  a melanin  relation 
involving  the  reaction  of  various  enzymes,  tyrosin  and  other  com- 
plex proteins.  While  this  variation  cannot  be  interpreted  at  this 
time,  it  is  evident  that  the  chemical  composition  of  at  least 
the  surface  tissues  of  these  tubers  was  influenced  by  the 
soil  temperatures.  The  question  naturally  arises  as  to  what 
relation  such  changes  may  have  upon  susceptibility  or  resistance 
to  scab  infection  or  development.  These  are  evidently  matters 
deserving  further  investigation. 


Stem  bases  and  stolons 


These  parts  of  the  potato  plant  seem  to  be  greatly  modified  by 
variations  in  soil  temperature,  as  noted  previously  by  Richards 
(8).  At  the  high  temperatures  they  become  relatively  large  in 
diameter  and  fleshy  in  nature.  The  stems  are  very  much  larger 
below  ground  than  they  are  above  the  soil  line,  whereas  at  the 
low  temperatures  the  reverse  is  true,  the  underground  stems  being 
more  slender  in  proportion  than  the  above  ground  stems.  As  the 
temperature  advances  toward  the  higher  limits  of  endurance  the 
basal  portion  of  the  main  stem  as  well  as  the  stolons  evidently 


* The  soil  temperatures  given  are  those  used  throughout  all  the  ex- 
periments. Since  there  was  so  little  difference  between  the  tempera- 
tures used  in  Experiments  II  and  III,  and  those  used  in  Experiments  IV 
and  V all  data  in  this  table  were  averaged  in  the  usual  manner. 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  31 


assumes  a storage  function.  This  may  be  correlated  in  some  de- 
gree with  an  inhibition  of  normal  tuber  development  and  conse- 
quently with  a disturbance  of  translocation  processes.  As  in  the 
case  of  the  tuber,  lenticel  development  is  very  marked  on  stems 
and  stolons  at  high  temperatures  and  much  reduced  at  low  ones. 

Above  Ground  Parts 

Richards  (8)  has  published  upon  data  which  are  essentially  in 
harmony  with  those  obtained  by  the  writers  concerning  the  re- 
sponse of  the  above  ground  parts  of  the  potato  plant.  The  results 
herein  reported,  however,  cover  somewhat  longer  periods  of  de- 
velopment and  a larger  number  of  experiments  than  those  which 
he  discussed. 

Stems 

Soil  temperature  greatly  influences  the  length  of  time  required 
for  germination  and  the  emergence  of  the  sprouts  from  the  soil 
as  shown  in  Table  VII.  Sprouts  emerge  first  in  soil  held  from 
21°-24°  C.  and  in  general  emergence  is  earlier  at  the  high  than  at 
the  low  temperatures.  During  the  early  life  of  the  plants  the 
height  of  tops  is  directly  correlated  with  the  time  of  emergence. 
A soil  temperature  of  about  27°  C.  soon  becomes  the  optimum 
for  these  organs  with  a sharp  decline  in  the  curve  above  this  tem- 
perature. Later,  however,  these  plants  at  the  higher  soil  tempera- 
tures commence  to  slacken  their  growth  and  come  to  maturity, 
whereas  the  plants  at  the  low  temperatures  come  on  slowly  and 
finally  surpass  plants  grown  at  the  high  temperatures.  In  general 
the  life  cycle  of  the  potato  plant  is  short  at  high  and  long  at  low 
soil  temperatures. 

The  green  weight  of  “stems”  is  also  influenced  by  variations  in 
soil  temperature,  but  this  factor  seems  to  vary  more  or  less  di- 
rectly with  the  number  of  “stems”  produced  at  the  various  tem- 
peratures. Apparently  the  optimum  soil  temperature  for  the  pro- 
duction of  green  weight  and  that  for  the  production  of  number  of 
“stems”  per  hill  is  at  or  near  21°  C.  The  two  curves  differ,  how- 
ever, in  that  the  green  weight  curve  tends  to  show  a wider  opti- 
mum range  than  the  “stem”  curve.  Both  curves  decline  grad- 
ually from  the  optimum  point. 

The  development  of  “wings”  on  the  “stems”  is  much  reduced 
and  the  swelling  of  the  nodes  is  much  increased  by  high  soil  tern- 


32 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


peratures  and  in  some  cases  aerial  tubers  and  auxiliary  branches 
develop  at  the  higher  temperatures. 

The  leaves  of  the  potato  plant  also  show  variations  due  to  soil 
temperature.  In  general  the  ratio  of  width  to  length  in  leaflets 
follows  the  same  trend  as  is  the  case  with  tubers.  At  the  low  soil 
temperatures  leaflets  are  wider  in  proportion  to  their  length, 
whereas  they  are  longer  than  wide  at  the  high  temperatures  (Plate 
III  A,  B).  At  these  latter  temperatures  leaflets  are  decidedly 
lanceolate  in  form,  but  they  tend  towards  the  round  type  at  the 
low  soil  temperature. 

While  these  observations  have  dealt  primarily  with  the  evident 
characters,  chiefly  morphological,  it  is  realized  that  the  more  im- 
portant modifications  may  be  those  occurring  in  the  physiological 
processes,  especially  in  nutrition  and  including  food  translocation 
or  storage.  This  is  indicated  not  only  in  the  nodal  swellings  and 
aerial  tuber  developments  noted  above,  but  also  in  the  influence 
of  soil  temperature  upon  chlorophyll,  the  foliage  tending  in  gen- 
eral to  a deeper  green  at  the  lower  soil  temperatures  and  a lighter 
color  at  the  higher. 

We  have  not  the  data  to  go  far  in  the  discussion  of  the  details 
as  to  the  relation  of  even  this  single  variable  factor,  soil  tempera- 
ture, to  the  normal  development  of  the  potato  plant  and  its  tuber- 
ization  processes.  At  the  same  time  it  is  evident  that  an  adequate 
discussion  of  these  must  include  some  consideration  of  their  in- 
terrelation with  the  other  variables  in  the  environment,  especially 
air  temperatures  and  light. 

While  these  observations  relate  primarily  to  the  host  plant, 
their  significance  must  not  be  overlooked  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  disease.  As  pointed  out  earlier,  the  evidence  at  hand  indi- 
cates that  potato  scab  as  a disease  is  influenced  by  the  conditions 
of  tuber  development.  These  include  the  suggestion  that  rapidly 
growing  tubers  may  scab  more  severely  than  slow  growing  ones, 
and  that  there  may  be  such  differences  in  the  chemical  composi- 
tion of  the  tubers  developing  under  different  conditions  as  may 
influence  their  relative  susceptibility  to  infection.  The  rate  of  the 
tuber’s  development,  as  well  as  its  composition  is,  of  course,  cor- 
related, with  the  metabolic  and  growth  processes  of  the  rest  of  the 
plant.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  the  ultimate  understanding 
of  the  influence  of  soil  temperature  or  other  variable  factors  upon 
the  development  of  a disease  like  potato  scab  is  conditioned  upon 
further  studies  concerning  the  relation  of  these  to  host  as  well  as  / 
to  parasite. 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  33 


SUMMARY 

1.  The  development  of  potato  scab,  caused  by  Actinomyces 
scabies,  is  evidently  influenced  by  several  environmental  factors. 
An  attempt  has  been  made  to  secure  evidence  as  to  such  possible 
influence  of  soil  temperature. 

2.  Five  series  of  experiments  have  been  conducted  in  green- 
houses using  the  “Wisconsin  tank”  method.  These  have  included 
seven  gradations  of  soil  temperature  ranging  from  about  11°  to 
30.5  C.  In  all  cases  under  this  method  the  aim  is  to  maintain  the 
other  soil  conditions  including  moisture  alike  and  approximately 
constant,  and  in  each  experimental  series  all  the  plants  are  ex- 
posed to  the  same  aerial  conditions. 

3.  The  results  show  that  under  these  circumstances  the  devel- 
opment of  the  scab  disease  is  influenced  by  soil  temperature. 

4.  The  disease  developed  at  all  soil  temperatures,  11°  to  30.5° 
C,.  but  was  comparatively  slight  at  either  extreme. 

5.  The  optimum  soil  temperature  for  scab  development  as 
measured  by  the  number  of  scabby  tubers  was  found  to  be  about 
23°  C.,  while  the  optimum  for  the  percentage  of  the  total  tuber 
surface  scabbed  was  a little  lower,  about  20.5°  C.  The  conclu- 
sion reached  is  that  all  things  considered  22°  C.  may  be  accepted 
as  about  the  optimum  soil  temperature  for  scab  development, 
where  the  “Wisconsin  tank”  method  is  used. 

6.  A field  trial  was  also  conducted  in  which  three  gradations 
of  soil  temperature  were  maintained  during  the  season  of  tuber 
development.  Of  these  the  highest,  approximately  25°  C.,  proved 
to  be  most  conducive  to  scab  development. 

7.  Field  observations  seem  in  general  to  accord  with  the  results 
obtained  by  experiments.  They  indicate  that  potato  scab  is  com- 
paratively more  prevalent  in  regions  having  high  summer  tem- 
peratures than  in  those  of  lower  temperature,  and  also  that  in  the 
same  district  in  Wisconsin  the  disease  development  is  greater  dur- 
ing hot  than  during  cool  summers.  It  is  to  be  noted,  however, 
that  such  observational  data  is  relatively  meager  and  is  to  be  con- 
sidered only  as  suggestive.  Attention  should  be  directed  to  this 
question  by  other  observers. 

8.  As  bearing  more  definitely  upon  this  matter  it  is  found  that 
in  the  leading  Wisconsin  potato  districts  the  mean  temperatures 


3,4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  53 


for  July  and  August  during  the  hottest  midsummers  approximate 
those  found  in  our  experiments  to  be  the  optimum  for  scab  devel- 
opment. 

9.  Examinations  of  the  scabby  tubers  from  the  controlled  tem- 
perature experiments  as  well  as  of  samples  from  commercial 
sources  show  that  the  scab  lesions  tend  to  be  segregated  upon  the 
“stem  end”  portion  of  the  tuber. 

10.  The  evidence  from  the  soil  temperature  tank  series  shows 
that  such  segregation  is  less  evident  at  or  near  the  optimum  tem- 
perature for  scab  development  and  more  apparent  at  the  extreme 
temperatures. 

11.  The  influence  of  temperature  upon  the  development  o£  the 
disease  must  obviously  bear  a relation  on  the  one  hand  to  effects 
upon  the  parasite  and  on  the  other  hand  to  effects  upon  the  host. 

12.  The  available  evidence  indicates  that  the  scab  parasite  as  an 
independent  organism  is  favored  by  relatively  high  temperatures, 
whereas  the  potato  plant  functions  better  in  general  at  relatively 
low  temperatures.  It  is,  however,  noteworthy  that  the  influence 
of  temperature  upon  the  different  potato  organs  is  not  uniform 
and  that  it  varies  also  with  the  stage  in  their  development. 

13.  The  influence  of  temperature  upon  the  prevalence  of  the 
parasite  in  the  soil  may  be  cumulative  from  season  to  season 
whereas  the  influence  upon  the  host  is  immediate  and  temporary. 

14.  The  immediate  relation  of  temperature  to  the  development 
of  scab  seems  to  be  more  closely  correlated  with  its  influence  upon 
potato  tuber  development  than  with  that  upon  the  growth  of  the 
parasite. 

15.  It  seems  evident  that  a satisfactory  interpretation  of  the 
relation  of  soil  temperature  to  the  development  of  potato  scab 
must  await  on  the  one  hand  more  critical  study  of  its  relation  to 
tuber  development  and  on  the  other  hand  a fuller  knowledge  of 
the  details  as  to  tuber  infection  and  subsequent  scab  development. 

LITERATURE  CITED 

(1)  Fitch,  C.  L. 

1914.  Identification  of  potato  varieties.  Off.  Pub.  Iowa  State 
Col.  Agr.,  v.  12,  no.  33  (Ext.  Bui.  20),  32  p.,  25  fig.,  1 col.  pi. 

(2)  Giissow,  H.  T. 

1917.  The  pathogenic  action  of  Rhizoctonia  on  potato.  In 
Phytopathology,  v.  7,  no.  3,  p.  209-213,  1 fig. 


Influence  of  Soil  Temperature  on  Potato  Scab  35 


(3)  Jones,  L.  R. 

1905.  Disease  resistance  of  potatoes.  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur. 
Plant  Indus.  Bui.  87,  39  p. 

(4)  Jones,  L.  R. 

1922.  Experimental  work  on  the  relation  of  soil  temperature  to 
disease  in  plants.  In  Trans.  Wis.  Acad.  Sci.,  Arts  and  Letters, 
v.  22,  p.  433-459,  pi.  33-37. 

(5)  r — and  McKinney,  H.  H. 

1919.  The  influence  of  soil  temperature  on  potato  scab.  In 
Phytopathology,  v.  9,  no.  7,  p.  301-302. 

(6)  Orton,  W.  A. 

1913.  Environmental  influences  in  the  pathology  of  Solanum 
tuberosum.  In  Jour.  Wash.  Acad.  Sci.,  v.  3,  no.  7,  p.  180-190, 

3 fig. 

(7)  

1916.  Report  on  potato  diseases  in  Bermuda.  In  Rept.  Bd.  Agr. 
Bermuda,  1914-15,  p.  13-15. 

(8)  Richards,  B.  L. 

1921.  Pathogenicity  of  Corticium  vagum  on  the  potato  as  af- 
fected by  soil  temperature.  In  Jour.  Agri.  Research,  v.  21,  no. 
7,  p.  459-482,  5 fig.,  pi.  88-93.  Literature  cited,  p.  481-482. 

(9)  Shapovalov,  Michael. 

1915.  Effect  of  temperature  on  germination  and  growth  of  the 
common  potato-scab  organism.  In  Jour.  Agr.  Research,  v.  4, 
no.  2,  p.  129-134,  1 fig.,  pi.  15. 

(10)  Smith,  J.  Warren. 

1911.  Correlation.  In  Mo.  Weather  Rev.,  v.  39,  no.  5,  p.  792-795, 

4 fig. 

(11)  

1919.  The  effect  of  weather  upon  the  yield  of  potatoes.  In 
Potato  Mag.,  v.  1,  no.  10,  p.  11-14;  no.  11,  p.  15-17;  no.  12,  p. 
7,  16-17,  27 ; v.  2,  no.  1,  p.  16-17,  33-34.  23  fig.  References, 
p.  34. 

(12)  Verrill,  Addison  E. 

1901-02.  The  Bermuda  Islands.  In  Trans.  Conn.  Acad.  Arts  and 
Sci.,  v.  11,  pt.  2,  x p.,  p.  413-[957],  245  fig.,  pi.  65-104.  Also 
separately  issued,  1903. 

(13)  Weiss,  Freeman,  and  Orton,  C.  R. 

1922.  Progress  notes  on  potato  wart  disease  investigations.  In 
Phytopathology,  v.  22,  no.  — , p. 

(14)  Wollenweber,  H.  W. 

1920.  Der  Kartoffelschorf.  Arb.  Forsch.  Inst.  Kartoffelbau, 
Heft.  2,  102  p.,  11  fig.,  2 pi.  (partly  col.). 


PLATE  I.  PART  OF  THE  TUBERS  FROM  EXPERIMENT  I SHOWING 
THE  INFLUENCE  OF  SOIL  TEMPERATURE  ON  THE 
DEVELOPMENT  OF  POTATO  SCAB. 

Note  the  severity  of  the  infection  on  the  tubers  grown  in  the  soil  held 
near  24°  C.  and  the  tendency  towards  tuber  elongation  and  the  de- 
velopment of  pear-shaped  tubers  at  the  higher  temperatures. 


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PLATE  II.  A REPRESENTATIVE  ONE-FIFTH  OF  THE  INOCULATED 
TUBER  POPULATION  FROM  EXPERIMENT  V. 

The  greatest  amount  of  scab  is  shown  on  the  tubers  grown  at  21°  C. 
(soil  temperature).  Note  the  tendency  for  tubers  to  elongate  at  the 
high  temperatures  and  to  thicken  transversely  at  the  lowest  tempera- 
tures. 


PLATE  III.  EFPECT  OF  TEMPERATURE  ON  PLANTS. 

A.  A typical  plant  grown  at  a soil  temperature  of  15°  C.  Note  the 
low  stocky  development  and  the  wide  rounded  leaflets. 

B.  A typical  plant  grown  at  a soil  temperature  of  27°  C.  Note  the 
relative  elongation  of  leaflets,  some  approaching  the  lanceolate  form, 
also  the  elongation  of  stems  and  the  more  upright  habit  of  growth. 

C.  An  underground  stem  grown  in  uninfested  soil.  Note  that  this 
stem  is  free  from  any  evidence  of  scab  lesions. 

D.  and  E.  Underground  stems,  stolons  and  tubers  grown  in  disin- 
fected soil,  which  was  infested  with  a pure  culture  of  A.  scabies  previous  to 
planting  the  seed.  Note  the  scab  lesions  on  the  stems  and  stolons  as  well 
as  on  the  tubers.  Stem  and  stolon  lesions  seem  to  originate  in  the  lenticels. 


%.  €*  c « ( 

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C < f fe  €,»«•(  t ♦ * * 

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PLATE  IV.  A REPRESENTATIVE  ONE-FIFTH  OF  THE  TUBERS 
FROM  THE  UNINOCULATED  OR  CONTROL  POTS  FROM  REPRE- 
SENTATIVE TEMPERATURES  IN  EXPERIMENT  V. 

All  the  control  tubers  were  scab  free.  The  influence  of  soil  tempera- 
ture on  tuber  shape  is  shown  in  this  series  by  the  elongated  tubers  at 
the  high  and  the  short  tubers  at  the  low  temperatures.  The  dark  pig- 
ment development  is  shown  in  the  tubers  produced  at  the  extreme  tem- 
peratures  as  is  the  case  in  Plate  V.  This  darkening  takes  place  after 
« ✓J3ers  ?:re  taken  from  the  soil  and  continues  in  the  preserving 
fluid  (formalin  or  alcohol)  until  the  tubers  produced  at  the  lowest  tem- 
peratures become  jet  black. 


PLATE  V.  ALL  OF  THE  UNINOCULATED  CONTROL  TUBERS  FROM 
EXPERIMENT  III  SHOWING  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  SOIL 
TEMPERATURE  ON  THE  DISCOLORATION  OF  TUBERS. 

This  material  was  photographed  five  months  after  removal  from  the 
soil,  during  which  period  it  was  preserved  in  70  per  cent  grain  alcohol. 
These  results  indicate  a difference  in  the  chemical  nature  of  the  tubers 
produced  at  the  various  soil  temperatures.  Such  a difference  may  be 
significant  in  the  final  interpretation  of  the  results  obtained  with  scab 
at  the  various  soil  temperatures.  All  of  these  tubers  were  free  from 
scab. 


THE  L 

BF  THE 

ttlMITlf  0F  UilfflS 


Research  Bulletin  64  uiiWERsmr  of  WWRA8B8&*  1922 

NOV  ta22 


The  Value  of  Lime  and  Inoculation 
for  Alfalfa  and  Clover  on 
Acid  Soils 


E.  J.  GRAUL  AND  E.  B.  FRED 


AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 


MADISON.  WISCONSIN 


Summary  of  Results 


ny  means  of  estimating  accurately  the  annual 
gain  in  nitrogen  due  to  the  activity  of  the  legume 
and  its  root  nodule  bacteria  is  not  available,  but 
from  the  evidence  it  is  certain  that  under  the  proper  con- 
ditions the  amount  fixed  per  acre  yearly  is  large.  This  is 
true  both  for  non-acid  and  for  acid  soils,  provided  the 
legume  is  adapted  to  the  reaction  of  the  acid  soil.  Care- 
ful selection  of  the  proper  legume  according  to  the  lime 
requirement  of  the  soil  is  an  important  point  which  too 
frequently  receives  but  little  attention.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  neutralize  all  of  the  soil  acidity  in  order  to  pro- 
duce a profitable  crop  of  alfalfa.  Small  applications  of 
limestone  usually  produce  a decidedly  beneficial  effect 
on  the  growth  and  nitrogen  content  of  legumes. 

According  to  soil  conditions  the  amount  of  nitrogen 
fixed  per  acre  for  one  cutting  was  as  follows : 

Colby  Silt  Loam 
Lbs. 

82.1 

106.2 

108.3 

112.4 

87.9 

67.2 

Plainfield  Sand 
Lbs. 

104.9 

107.8 

62.9 

45.8 

Plainfield  Sand 
Lbs. 

100.2 

140.0 

72.8 

12.5 

The  results  of  these  field  and  greenhouse  studies  show 
that  alfalfa  and  clover  on  the  acid  soils  make  the  most 
profitable  growth  where  the  nodule  bacteria  are  added, 
and  the  acidity  of  the  soil  is  neutralized  in  part  by  small 
applications  of  limestone. 


Alfalfa  unlimed  

“ 2%  tons  of  limestone. 

**  5 

**  7%  * 

“ 10  

“ IS 


Alfalfa  unlimed 

“ 1*4  tons  of  calcium  carbonate, 


Clover  unlimed  

“ 1*4  tons  of  calcium  carbonate. 

" 2%  


THE  VALUE  OF  LIME  AND  INOCULATION  FOR  AL- 
FALFA AND  CLOVER  ON  ACID  SOILS 


IT  IS  WELL  KNOWN  that  frequently  the  growth  of  alfalfa 
and,  in  some  cases,  of  clover  is  largely  determined  by  the 
amount  of  lime  in  the  soil  and  the  presence  of  the  proper 
nodule-forming  bacteria.  A considerable  amount  of  work  has 
been  done  on  this  subject,  some  of  which  has  been  discussed  in 
earlier  reports1,2  and  hence  need  not  be  reviewed  here. 

The  results  here  presented  were  obtained  from  field  and  green- 
house experiments  carried  out  with  alfalfa  and  red  clover  in 
which  the  effect  of  nodule-forming  bacteria  and  of  the  grade  and 
amount  of  lime  best  suited  for  growth  were  studied.  The  details 
of  the  method  of  these  experiments  were  similar  to  those  de- 
scribed in  earlier  work. 

In  these  publications  dealing  with  the  gain  in  nitrogen  from  the 
growth  of  legumes  on  acid  soils,  it  was  noted  that  the  presence  of 
the  nodule  bacteria  increased  the  percentage  of  nitrogen  in  the 
plant,  and  in  certain  cases  the  yield  of  various  leguminous  plants. 
Additions  of  limestone,  usually  one-half  enough  to  neutralize  the 
soil  acidity,  were  sufficient  for  the  production  of  a good  crop  and 
a high  nitrogen  assimilation.  It  was  found  that  the  amount  of 
nitrogen  fixed  by  well-inoculated  legumes  depends  upon  many 
conditions : the  type  of  soil,  the  reaction  of  the  soil,  and  the  kind 
of  legume.  For  example,  alfalfa  on  poor  Plainfield  sand  which  had 
been  limed,  showed  an  average  gain  in  nitrogen  from  the  air  for 
each  of  5 cuttings  of  87.5  pounds  per  acre,  while  on  more  fertile 
Colby  silt  loam  the  gain  was  only  41.3  pounds.  Soybeans  on  acid 
sand  with  the  proper  bacteria  fixed  about  108  pounds  of  nitrogen 
per  acre,  and  in  the  presence  of  half  enough  lime  to  neutralize  the 
soil  acidity,  about  129  pounds  of  nitrogen.  Although  applica- 
tions of  lime  alone  gave  a gain  in  plant  growth,  the  most  econom- 
ical increase  was  obtained  from  the  inoculated  and  limed  soils. 
This  statement  is  especially  true  of  alfalfa. 

1 Fred,  E.  B.  and  Graul,  E.  J.,  Research  Bui.  39,  Wis.  Agr.  Expt.  Station, 
1916. 

2 Fred,  E.  B.  and  Graul,  E.  J.,  Soil  Science,  1919,  vii.  455. 


2 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  54 


Large  areas  of  acid  soils  exist  in  practically  all  parts  of  Wis- 
consin. On  many  of  these  soils  alfalfa  cannot  be  grown  success- 
fully without  inoculation  and  the  addition  of  limestone.  The  de- 
gree of  acidity  varies  from  slightly  acid  to  very  strongly  acid, 
depending  on  the  causative  agent,  on  the  inherent  composition  of 
the  soil,  and  on  the  length  of  time  the  soil  has  been  cropped. 

While  it  is  economically  unwise  to  neutralize  all  of  the  acidity 
in  these  soils,  it  is  important  to  know  that  alfalfa  and  related 
plants  high  in  calcium  can  be  grown  with  profit  on  very  acid  soils 
provided  a fraction  of  the  total  acidity  is  neutralized.  It  is  not 
so  much  a question  of  how  much  acidity  there  is  in  a soil,  but  of 
how  much  lime  carbonate  is  available  for  the  metabolism  of  the 
plant. 

EXPERIMENTAL 

Two  types  of  soil  representative  of  a large  area  of  Wisconsin 
(Colby  silt  loam  and  Plainfield  sand)  were  chosen  for  these  ex- 
periments. The  silt  loam  was  obtained  from  the  branch  experi- 
ment station  at  Marshfield  and  from  Curtiss,  in  Clark  county. 
The  soil  from  Marshfield  had  not  been  cropped  for  many  years, 
while  the  soil  from'  Curtiss  had  been  cropped  for  thirty  years. 
Field  experiments  were  carried  out  on  these  two  kinds  of  Colby 
silt  loam  in  conjunction  with  the  laboratory  studies.  The  sand 
was  obtained  from  the  Waushara  County  Demonstration  Farm 
at  Hancock  and  represents  a soil  that  has  been  cropped  for  many 
years. 

Two  methods  to  determine  the  degree  of  acidity  were  chosen — 
the  active  acidity  method3  and  the  zinc-sulfide  method4.  Active 
acidity  on  silt  loam  from  Marshfield  was  equivalent  to  1.04  grams 
of  calcium  carbonate  for  every  100  grams  of  soil;  on  silt  loam 
from  Curtiss,  0.86  grams  of  calcium  carbonate  for  every  100 
grams  of  soil;  and  on  sand  from  Hancock,  0.21  grams  of  calcium 

carbonate  for  every  100  grams  of  soil.  Both  of  the  silt  loams 
were  strongly  acid ; the  sand  was  only  slightly  acid.  To  neutralize 
all  of  the  active  acids  in  the  silt  loam,  from  8 to  10  tons  per  acre 
of  limestone  would  be  required,  and  for  the  sand,  2.5  tons.  Ac- 
cording to  the  degree  of  acidity  indicated  by  the  zinc-sulfide  test 

3 Truog,  E.,  In  J.  Ind.  Eng-.  Chem.  VIII,  341,  1916. 

4 Truog,  E.,  Bui.  312,  Wis.  Agr.  Expt.  Station,  1920. 


Lime  and  Inoculation  for  Alfalfa  and  Clover 


o 


and  in  accordance  with  recommendations  given  with  the  test  re- 
garding the  amount  of  lime  to  be  used,  from  three  to  four  tons 
per  acre  of  limestone  should  be  applied  to  the  silt  loams  and  two 
tons  to  the  sands  for  alfalfa. 

The  soils  were  put  into  two  and  four-gallon  earthenware  jars, 
and  the  limestone,  or  in  some  cases  precipitated  calcium  carbonate, 
was  added  in  varying  amounts  and  thoroughly  mixed  with  the 
soil.  The  different  treatments  are  outlined  in  the  tables  that  fol- 
low. In  some  of  the  experiments  both  ohosphorus  and  potassium 
were  added  to  eliminate  their  deficiency  as  possible  limiting  fac- 
tors in  plant  growth.  The  soil  was  kept  at  about  50  to  60  per  cent 
saturation  with  distilled  water. 

The  Effect  of  Calcium  Carbonate,  Ground  Limestone, 

Phosphorus,  and  Potassium  on  the  Growth  and  Total 
Nitrogen  of  Alfalfa  on  Virgin  Colby  Silt  Loam. 

Forty-four  two-gallon  jars  were  filled  with  6,800  grams  each 
of  dry  soil.  The  jars  were  divided  into  four  series  and  treated  as 
given  in  Table  I.  To  the  first  and  second  series  precipitated  calcium 
carbonate  was*  added  in  varying  quantities  ranging  from  2.5  tons 
to  the  acre  to  more  than  enough  to  neutralize  the  active  acidity. 
To  the  third  series  finely  ground  agricultural  limestone,  passing  a 
100  mesh  sieve,  was  added  in  amounts  equivalent  to  that  in  the 
first  and  second.  To  the  fourth  series  commercial  agricultural 
limestone  was  added.  The  agricultural  limestone  contained  about 
60  per  cent  CaCOs  and  40  per  cent  MgC03.  On  the  acre  basis 
these  applications  amounted  to  2.5,  5,  7.5,  10,  and  15  tons  of 
limestone.  The  application  of  lime  in  tons  per  acre  is  shown  in 
Table  I.  In  addition  to  the  calcium  carbonate,  an  application  of 
phosphorus  and  potassium  in  the  form  of  potassium  acid  phos- 
phate was  added  to  certain  jars.  The  rate  of  application  of  the 
potassium  acid  phosphate  was  2 grams  per  jar,  or  516  pounds  per 


4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  54 


Table  I. — Effect  of  Carbonates  in  Different  Degrees  of  Fineness  on 
Growth  and  Nitrogen  Content  of  Alfalfa  on  Colby  Silt  Loam. 


No. 

' Treatment 

Dry  Weights 

Nitrogen 

Nitrogpn  in 

Calcium  Carbonate 

Tops 

Roots 

Tops 

Roots 

Tops  . 

Roots 

tons 

gm. 

gm. 

mg. 

mg. 

per  ct. 

per  ct. 

None 

34.7 

33  5 

1150  7 

692  2 

3.32 

2 07 

2 

2K  precipitated.. . 

None 

49.0 

38.9 

1682.9 

867.3 

3*43 

2~  23 

3 

5 precipitated . . . 

None 

53.2 

36.3 

1803.1 

792.0 

3.39 

2.18 

4 

7yi  precipitated.. . 

None 

57.1 

39.5 

1996  5 

1006.5 

3.50 

2.55 

5 

10  precipitated . . . 

None. 

59.1 

32.1 

2065.1 

748.0 

3.49 

2.33 

6 

15  precipitated . . . 

None 

52.5 

39.0 

1860.3 

918.0 

3.54 

2.35 

7 

None 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

33  6 

34.5 

1138.0 

697.8 

3.39 

2.02 

8 

precipitated . . . 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

49.8 

32.8 

1650  5 

711.3 

3.31 

2.17 

9 

5 precipitated . . . 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

56.3 

38.7 

1893.4 

894.4 

3.36 

2.31 

10 

7%  precipitated . . . 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

57.7 

36.0 

1999.9 

823.4 

3.47 

2.29 

11 

10  precipitated . . . 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

57.5 

36.5 

2010.9 

839.4 

3.50 

2.30 

12 

15  precipitated . . . 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

58.2 

32.8 

2019  5 

767.9 

3.47 

2.34 

13 

2K  fine 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

50.9 

36.0 

1735.7 

796.3 

3.41 

2.21 

14 

5 fine 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

55.6 

38.5 

1903.1 

875.6 

3.42 

2.27 

15 

7H  fine 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

57.7 

33.8 

1923.6 

796.1 

3.33 

2.36 

16 

10  fine 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

57.4 

36.7 

1912.7 

849.1 

3.33 

2.31 

17 

15  fine 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

50.5 

33.3 

1722.5 

805.1 

3.41 

2.42 

18 

2 y*  coarse 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

50.4 

35.4 

1665.1 

826.0 

3.30 

2.05 

19 

5 coarse 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

51.7 

35.2 

1775.0 

757.9 

3.43 

2.15 

20 

7 K coarse 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

55.6 

34.8 

1849.1 

778.0 

3.33 

2.24 

21 

10  coarse 

Potassium  phospnate. . 

57.7 

35.9 

1891.7 

820.7 

3.28 

2.28 

22 

15  coarse 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

55.4 

34  8 

1796.7 

769.7 

3.24 

2.21 

The  jars  were  seeded  to  inoculated  Grimm  alfalfa  seed  and  two 
weeks  later  thinned  to  20  plants  in  each  jar.  Because  of  the  high 
temperature  of  the  greenhouse,  growth  was  only  fair.  The  crop 
was  harvested  September  22,  and  kept  for  analysis.  The  roots 
were  removed,  examined  for  nodules,  and  also  kept  for  analysis. 
The  soil  was  returned  to  the  jars  and  left  in  a cool  greenhouse 
until  January  16,  when  it  was  again  seeded  to  Grimm  alfalfa  and 
thoroughly  inoculated.  The  alfalfa  grew  splendidly  at  this  sea- 
son of  the  year;  the  first  crop  was  harvested  May  15  and  saved 
for  analysis,  and  the  second  crop  was  harvested  July  20.  The 
roots  were  removed  for  nodule  study  and  for  analysis  of  nitrogen. 
At  this  time  the  soil  was  thoroughly  mixed  and  samples  were 
drawn  for  analysis. 

The  first  crop  had  just  started  to  bloom,  while  the  second  crop 
had  been  in  bloom  for  several  days  when  it  was  harvested.  The 
roots  of  the  alfalfa  showed  that  nodule  formation  was  general 
and  that  no  difference  due  to  the  various  treatments  was  evident. 
The  second  crop  was  photographed  July  2,  just  before  harvest. 
Plates  I and  II  show  the  comparative  growth  of  the  alfalfa  in  the 
presence  of  different  amounts  and  grades  of  carbonates.  From 
Table  I it  will  be  seen  that  applications  of  lime  at  the  rates  men- 
tioned whether  in  the  form  of  precipitated,  fine,  or  coarse  lime 


Lime  and  Inoculation  for  Alfalfa  and  Clover  5 

always  favored  greatly  the  yield  of  alfalfa.  Table  I contains  the 
total  weights  of  the  three  crops,  together  with  their  total  nitrogen 
content  and  percentage  of  nitrogen.  The  figures  are  averages  of 
duplicate  jars.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  give  the  weight  or 
nitrogen  content  of  the  different  crops ; these  data  are  on  file  at 
the  station. 

The  Growth  of  Alfalfa  as  Influenced  by  the  Various 
Treatments 

The  gain  in  weight  from  liming  varied  wtih  the  different  cut- 
tings and  with  the  amount  of  lime  carbonate  added.  It  was  great- 
est in  series  1,  where  calcium  carbonate  alone  at  the  rate  of  10 
tons  per  acre  was  applied.  The  favorable  influence  of  lime  was 
noted  with  all  three  crops,  but  was  most  marked  in  the  case  of  the 
third  cutting.  This  increase  in  yield  amounted  to  15.0  grams  or 
81.5  per  cent.*  Where  only  2.5  tons  of  lime  carbonate  were 
applied,  an  increase  of  48.3  per  cent  was  obtained.  Where  5 tons 
of  lime  carbonate  were  applied,  an  increase  of  62.5  per  cent  re- 
sulted. When  all  three  crops  are  considered  together,  the  10-ton 
application  of  calcium  carbonate  resulted  in  an  increase  of  70.3 
per  cent.  Large  increases  resulted  from  the  use  of  2.5  tons,  while 
nearly  as  large  total  yields  were  obtained  with  7.5  tons  as  with  10 
tons.  The  series  with  pure  precipitated  calcium  carbonate  alone  in 
2.5-ton  amounts  gave  nearly  as  large  a total  yield  of  alfalfa  as  did 
the  series  treated  with  phosphate  and  potassium  in  addition  to 
calcium  carbonate.  The  addition  of  phosphorus  and  potassium 
alone  did  not  increase  the  crop  yield.  The  maximum  yield  in  the 
presence  of  phosphorus  and  potassium  was  obtained  from  the  15- 
ton  application  of  calcium  carbonate. 

The  difference  in  yields  between  the  series  treated  with  finely 
ground  limestone  and  that  treated  with  commercial  limestone  is 
not  great,  although  there  is  a tendency  for  the  finely  ground  lime- 
stone to  produce  somewhat  higher  yields  when  applied  in  medium 
amounts.  When  very  large  quantities  of  limestone  are  added 
there  is  at  least  a temporary  retarding  effect  in  that  the  crop 
yields  are  in  general  lower  than  where  medium  amounts  are  ap- 
plied. This  injury  is  perhaps  due  to  the  locking  up  of  phosphates. 
The  most  important  conclusion  to  be  reached  from  this  jar  ex- 
periment is  that  the  addition  of  moderate  amounts  of  limestone 
to  these  acid  soils  results  in  large  increases  in  crop  yield.  To 
bring  out  more  clearly  the  comparison  of  the  average  as  given  in 


•Data  from  which  these  were  calculated  are  not  given. 


6 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  54- 


Table  I,  Figure  1 was  prepared.  In  this  chart  the  height  of  the 
black  columns  indicates  the  yield  of  alfalfa  in  grams. 


FIG.  1.— GROWTH  OF  ALFALFA  ON  COLBY  SILT  LOAM. 

The  difference  in  height  of  columns  shows  the  effect  of  calcium  car- 
bonate and  of  limestone  with  and  without  phosphorus  and  potassium  on 
growth  of  alfalfa. 

Nitrogen  in  Alfalfa. — Samples  of  roots  and  tops  of  the  dif- 
ferent crops  and  of  soil  from  the  various  jars  were  analyzed  for 
total  nitrogen  and  the  results  calculated  to  a moisture-free  basis. 
The  data  are  given  in  Table  I.  The  greatest  increase  in  nitrogen, 
a gain  amounting  to  79.4  per  cent,  was  obtained  where  calcium 
carbonate  was  applied  alone  at  the  rate  of  10  tons  to  the  acre. 
Since  each  figure  in  this  table,  except  that  for  nitrogen  in  roots, 
represents  the  average  of  at  least  6 to  8 analyses,  the  error  in 
sampling  and  analytical  work  is  greatly  reduced.  If  the  total 
nitrogen  of  the  tops  and  roots  of  the  treated  plants  is  compared 
with  that  of  the  untreated,  a strikingly  higher  increase  is  evident. 
It  is  of  interest  and  importance  to  note  that  the  roots  also  contain 
more  nitrogen  when  lime  was  added  to  the  soil. 

Figure  2 shows  graphically  the  total  nitrogen  of  the  three  crops 
for  the  various  treatments.  The  percentage  of  nitrogen  in  most 
of  the  crops,  including  the  roots,  was  increased  by  the  addition  of 
calcium  carbonate  to  the  soil.  Where  phosphorus  and  potassium 


Lime  and  Inoculation  for  Alfalfa  and  Clover 


7 


were  added  along  with  calcium  carbonate,  the  same  general  ten- 
dency obtained  except  with  the  third  crop,  where  the  control  con- 
tained a somewhat  higher  percentage  of  nitrogen  than  the  treated 
crops.  Limestone  had  the  same  effect  as  calcium  carbonate. 
Here,  as  in  the  case  with  the  tops,  it  was  found  that  the  roots 
treated  with  lime  and  fertilizer  contained  a higher  percentage  of 
nitrogen  than  the  control  roots. 


Milligrams 
Zioo 


1800 


1 

1 1 . ■ 1 1 1 in ■■ 

n 

i 

i 

FIG.  2.— NITROGEN  IN  ALFALFA  FROM  COLBY  SILT  LOAM. 

The  difference  in  height  of  columns  shows  the  effect  of  calcium  car- 
bonate and  of  limestone,  with  and  without  phosphorus  on  total  nitrogen 
of  alfalfa. 


The  Effect  of  Inoculation  With  and  Without  Limestone  on 
the  Growth  and  Total  Nitrogen  of  Alfalfa  on  Cropped 
Colby  Silt  Loam 

Twelve  four-gallon  jars  were  each  filled  with  13,668  grams  of 
dry  silt  loam  to  which  was  added  2 grams  of  di-sodium  acid  phos- 
phate, or  320  pounds  per  acre.  Finely  ground  limestone  was  added 
in  two  amounts,  enough  to  neutralize  one-half  and  enough  to 
neutralize  the  entire  active  acidity.  These  applications  correspond 


8 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  54 


to  5 tons  per  acre  for  half  lime  and  10  tons  per  acre  for  full  lime. 
The  soil  was  seeded  to  Grimm  alfalfa  March  30.  The  jars  were 
divided  into  two  series  of  6 jars  each;  the  one  series  was  inocu- 
lated, while  the  other  series  was  left  uninoculated. 

Throughout  the  growing  season  there  was  no  apparent  differ- 
ence in  the  crops  of  the  different  series,  except  that  the  inoculated 
series  was  somewhat  darker  green.  The  alfalfa  was  cut  four 
times,  May  11,  June  25,  August  4,  and  September  28.  Because 
of  the  small  crop  at  the  May  clipping  this  tissue  was  added  to 
that  cut  in  June  and  the  nitrogen  content  of  the  two  determined 
together.  The  data  for  this  experiment  are  recorded  in  Table  II. 
Here  again  the  weights  are  the  sum  of  the  three  crops  and  the 
average  of  duplicate  jars. 


Table  II. — The  Effect  of  Inoculation  With  and  Without  Limestone 
on  Growth  and  Nitrogen  of  Alfalfa  on  Cropped  Colby  Silt  Loam. 


Treatment* 

Dry 

weights 

Nitrogen 

Nitrogen  in 

No. 

Inoculation 

1 

Uninoculated 

tons 

None 

gm. 

41.8 

mg. 

1448.8 

per  cent 
3.47 

2 

Inoculated  

None 

48.3 

1613.7 

3.38 

3 

Uninoculated 

5 limestone 

58.0 

2142.0 

3.66 

4 

Inoculated 

5 limestone 

62.6 

220C.4 

3.52 

5 

Uninoculated 

10  limestone 

60.0 

2190.8 

3.65 

6 

Inoculated 

10  limestone 

68.0 

2508.7 

3.69 

* Di-sodium  phosphate  was  added  at  the  rate  of  320  lbs.  per  acre. 


Inoculation  alone  caused  a marked  increase  in  crop  growth, 
which  for  a total  of  the  three  crops  amounted  to  15.6  per  cent. 
Where  5 tons  of  limestone  were  added,  but  no  inoculation,  the 
gain  as  compared  with  the  control  amounted  to  40.2  per  cent,  and 
where  the  crop  was  inoculated  in  addition  to  lime  the  increase 
was  49.7  per  cent.  Still  greater  increases  were  obtained  when 
larger  amounts  of  lime  were  added.  For  this  particular  soil  it  is 
evident  that  both  limestone  and  inoculation  are  essential  for  the 
production  of  maximum  crops. 

Nitrogen  in  Alfalfa. — Without  exception  the  use  of  legume 
bacteria  resulted  in  a great  increase  in  the  total  amount  of  ni- 
trogen. The  treatment  with  nodule  bacteria  alone  increased  the 
nitrogen  11.4  per  cent.  Where  5 tons  of  limestone  were  added  and 
the  seed  inoculated  the  increase  was  52.3  per  cent  over  the  un- 
inoculated control.  On  the  other  hand,  the  percentage  of  nitrogen 


Lime  and  Inoculation  for  Alfalfa  and  Clover 


9 


in  the  treated  series  failed  to  show  any  well-defined  difference 
from  that  of  the  untreated.  The  gain  in  growth  following  in- 
oculation no  doubt  accounts  for  the  lower  percentage  of  nitrogen. 

The  Effect  of  Inoculation  and  Calcium  Carbonate  on  the 

Growth  and  Total  Nitrogen  of  Alfalfa  on  Plainfield  Sand 

Twenty-four  two-gallon  jars  were  filled  with  soil  from  Han- 
cock and  treated  with  lime,  phosphorus,  and  potassium  as  out- 
lined in  Table  III.  Pure  precipitated  calcium  carbonate  was  used 
to  neutralize  the  acidity.  The  lime  was  added  in  amounts  equiva- 
lent to  one-half,  total,  and  double  the  active  acidity  in  the  soil,  or 
an  application  of  1.25  tons  per  acre  for  the  one-half  amount,  2.50 
tons  per  acre  for  the  full  amount,  and  5.00  tons  for  the  double 
amount. 


Table  III. — The  Effect  of  Inoculation  With  and  Without  Lime  on 
the  Growth  and  Nitrogen  Content  of  Alfalfa  on  Plainfield  Sand. 


Treatment 

Dry  weights 

Nitrogen 

Nitrogen  in 

No. 

Inoculation 

Calc.  Carbonate 

Tops 

Roots 

Tops 

Roots 

Tops 

Roots 

tona 

gm 

gm. 

mg. 

mg. 

per  ct. 

per  ct. 

1 

Uninoculated. . . 

None 

None 

9.9 

6.4 

234.3 

80.8 

2.37 

1.26 

2 

Inoculated 

None 

None 

17.6 

12.5 

635.6 

284.1 

3.61 

2.27 

3 

Uninoculated. . . 

2 Yi  precipitated . . 

None 

13.2 

5.6 

456.9 

140.6 

3.46 

2.51 

4 

Inoculated 

2K  precipitated.. 

None 

28.0 

16.6 

962.3 

389.7 

3.44 

2.34 

5 

Uninoculated. . . 

None 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

27.8 

20.7 

958.8 

461.6 

3.45 

2.23 

6 

Inoculated 

None 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

27.7- 

23.1 

985.0 

547.7 

3.56 

2.37 

7 

Uninoculated. . . 

X%  precipitated.. 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

27.9 

18.1 

938.4 

410.7 

3.36 

2.27 

8 

Inoculated 

\%  precipitated.. 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

31.4 

18.4 

1108.1 

459.0 

3.53 

2.49 

9 

Uninoculated. . . 

2%  precipitated . . 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

25.7 

14.8 

883.0 

348.3 

3.44 

2.35 

10 

Inoculated 

2K  precipitated  . 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

28.5 

17.3 

966.3 

407.8 

3.39 

2.36 

11 

Uninoculated. . . 

5 precipitated . . 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

19.5 

11.7 

685.1 

263.9 

3.51 

2.26 

12 

Inoculated 

5 precipitated.. 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

19.6 

13.4 

684.2 

331.1 

3.49 

2.47 

Phosphorus  and  potassium  were  added  in  the  form  of  di-potas- 
sium phosphate  at  the  rate  of  2 grams  per  jar  or  516  pounds  per 
acre.  This  series  was  planted  to  alfalfa  June  24 — 25  seeds  per  jar 
— and  inoculated  as  outlined  in  the  table.  The  alfalfa  grew  thrift- 
ily in  the  first  part  of  the  season,  especially  in  the  series  treated 
with  phosphorus  and  potassium.  During  the  latter  part  of  August, 
however,  the  plants  were  seriously  affected  by  yellowing.  The 
crop  was  harvested  September  21,  and  the  roots  removed  for 
nodule  study  and  for  analysis.  The  uninoculated  roots  were  gen- 
erally free  from  nodules,  although  infection  was  noted  in  a few 
instances.  The  inoculated  roots  were  well  supplied  with  nodules. 

On  January  16,  the  jars  were  again  planted  to  alfalfa  and  in- 
oculated as  in  the  previous  experiment.  On  March  10  those  jars 
which  had  previously  been  treated  with  phosphorus  and  potassium 


10 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  54 


were  treated  with  two  grams  each  of  di-sodium  phosphate  or  516 
pounds  per  acre.  May  16  the  second  crop  was  harvested.  The 
presence  of  the  nodule  bacteria  proved  decidedly  beneficial  and 
without  exception  in  the  same  series  the  inoculated  plants  were 
larger  and  of  a deeper  green  color  than  the  uninoculated.  In  the 
presence  of  added  phosphorus  and  potassium  the  plants  grew 
thriftily.  On  the  other  hand,  where  lime  in  a large  quantity  was 
added  in  addition  to  phosphorus  and  potassium,  there  was  a 
slight  retarding  effect.  On  June  26  the  third  crop  was  cut  and 
the  roots  removed  for  nodule  study  and  for  analysis.  The  un- 
inoculated series  showed  some  nodules,  but  not  as  many  as  were 
found  on  the  inoculated  series.  The  weights  for  the  three  crops, 
together  with  their  nitrogen  content,  are  recorded  in  Table  III. 
The  presence  of  the  legume  bacteria  without  lime  or  fertilizer 
caused  a marked  increase  in  the  growth  of  alfalfa;  in  grams  of 
dry  matter  the  yield  is  almost  double  that  of  the  control.  As 
compared  with  the  crops  on  Colby  silt  loam  soil  the  gain  due  to 
inoculation  alone  is  far  greater.  The  roots  show  a corresponding 
increase  in  weight  from  inoculation.  Still  more  marked  increases 
were  obtained  from  the  soils  treated  with  bacteria  and  lime. 

When  2.5  tons  of  calcium  carbonate  were  added  the  increase 
in  the  inoculated  series  over  the  uninoculated  no  lime  series 
amounted  to  182.8  per  cent  for  the  combined  three  crops.  When 
phosphorus  and  potassium  were  added  the  limestone  did  not 
brine  about  marked  increases  and  where  large  quantities  of  lime 
were  applied,  an  actual  reduction  in  crop  yield  was  obtained. 

Nitrogen  in  Alfalfa. — If  the  total  amount  of  nitrogen  found 
in  the  crop  is  used  as  a measure  of  the  value  of  inoculation  or  of 
lime,  then  the  results  of  Table  III  are  of  special  interest.  Inocu- 
lation alone  more  than  doubled  the  amount  of  nitrogen  in  the 
tops  and  roots,  and  also  increased  the  percentage  of  nitrogen. 
This  increase  in  total  nitrogen  was  still  further  enhanced  by  the 
addition  of  2.5  tons  per  acre  of  calcium  carbonate,  but  when  large 
amounts  of  lime  were  used  and  the  soil  treated  with  phosphorus 
and  potassium  the  increase  was  not  so  large.  Inoculation  without 
any  other  treatment  increased  the  percentage  of  nitrogen  in  every 
case,  both  in  the  tops  and  in  the  roots.  This  condition  was  not 
apparent  in  all  cases  where  calcium  carbonate,  phosphorus,  and 
potassium  were  used.  In  fact,  the  percentage  of  nitrogen  was 
lower  in  the  inoculated  series  of  the  second  and  third  crops 
treated  with  lime  and  fertilizer  than  in  the  uninoculated  series. 


Lime  and  Inoculation  for  Alfalfa  and  Clover  11 


Effect  of  Inoculation,  Lime,  Phosphorus,  and  Potassium  on  the 

Growth  and  Total  Nitrogen  of  Clover  on  Plainfield  Sand 

For  this  experiment  24  two-gallon  jars  were  filled  with  sand 
from  Hancock  and  treated  in  the  same  way  as  the  alfalfa  series. 
Medium  red  clover  was  planted  June  26,  and  inoculated  as  given 
in  Table  IV.  The  crop  was  harvested  September  22  and  the  roots 
removed  for  analysis.  At  this  time  very  little  difference  in  nodule 
formation  between  the  uninoculated  and  inoculated  series  could 
be  observed.  The  jars  were  again  planted  to  clover  January  16. 


Table  IV. — The  Effect  of  Inoculation  With  and  Without  Lime  on 
Growth  and  Total  Nitrogen  of  Clover  on  Plainfield  Sand. 


Treatment 

Dry  weights 

Nitrogen 

Nitrogen  in 

No. 

Inoculation, 

Calc,  carbonate 

Tops 

Roots 

Tops 

Roots 

Tops 

Roots 

tons 

gm. 

gm. 

mg. 

mg. 

per  ct. 

per  ct. 

1 

Uninoculated. . . 

None 

None 

18.3 

3.9 

426.8 

88.1 

2.33 

2.26 

2 

Inoculated 

None 

None 

19.8 

3.6 

579.4 

93.4 

2.93 

2.59 

3 

Uninoculated. . . 

2K  precipitated.. 

None 

17.3 

4.3 

533.9 

116.7 

3.09 

2.71 

4 

Inoculated 

2K  precipitated.. 

None 

17.9 

4.2 

559.1 

121.2 

3.12 

2.89 

5 

Uninoculated. . . 

None 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

39.9 

4.8 

1126.7 

110.7 

2.82 

2.31 

6 

Inoculated 

None 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

36.2 

4.0 

1146.5 

105.3 

3.17 

2.63 

7 

Uninoculated. . . 

IK  precipitated.. 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

44.2 

5.2 

1235.2 

128.7 

2.79 

2.48 

8 

Inoculated 

IK  preciptated. . 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

38.1 

4.7 

1218.3 

121.3 

3.20 

2.58 

9 

Uninoculated. . . 

2K  precipitated.. 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

36.5 

4.0 

952.3 

97.1 

2.61 

2.43 

10 

Inoculated 

2 K precipitated.. 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

37.4 

4.0 

1159.4 

100.7 

3.10 

2.52 

11 

Uninoculated. . . 

5 precipitated . . 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

39.5 

4.4 

1162.2 

111.3 

2.94 

2.53 

12 

Inoculated 

5 precipitated.. 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

24.0 

3.1 

758.4 

82.9 

3.16 

2.67 

Those  without  lime  and  with  lime  only  grew  very  poorly,  while 
those  with  phosphate  and  potassium  grew  much  better.  No  well- 
defined  difference  between  uninoculated  and  inoculated  jars  could 
be  noted.  This  crop  was  cut  June  13  and  the  roots  were  removed 
from  the  soil  for  nodule  study  and  then  returned  to  the  soil.  In 
the  unlimed  jars  the  nodules  seemed  to  be  more  in  clumps  than 
where  lime  was  added.  The  beneficial  effect  of  phosphorus  and 
potassium  was  fully  as  noticeable  as  in  the  case  of  the  alfalfa 
series.  The  weights  and  nitrogen  content  are  recorded  in  Table 
IV. 

Effect  of  Various  Treatments  on  Crop  Yields. — The  inocu- 
lated and  unlimed  plants  showed  an  increase  in  growth  for  the 
first  and  second  crops.  The  series  that  was  treated  with  lime  did 
not  show  such  a large  benefit  from  inoculation.  This  was  due 
partly  at  least  to  the  fact  that  the  uninoculated  limed  series  had 
become  naturally  inoculated.  The  addition  of  phosphorus  and 
potassium  greatly  increased  growth. 


12 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  54 


Nitrogen  in  Clover. — Inoculation  alone  was  effective  in  in- 
creasing the  total  nitrogen  of  the  tops  35.7  per  cent.  Where  lime 
alone  was  added  no  further  increase  was  found  in  tops,  but  a 
slight  increase  in  roots.  The  greatest  gain  was  obtained  in  the 
presence  of  phosphorus  and  potassium  when  calcium  carbonate 
at  the  rate  of  1.25  tons  per  acre  was  added.  Here  the  increase 
amounted  to  189.4  per  cent.  Inoculation  in  nearly  every  case  in- 
creased the  percentage  of  nitrogen  in  the  crops.  The  benefit  from 
the  nodule  bacteria  would  be  expected  because  these  sandy  soils 
are  especially  low  in  available  nitrogen.  Just  why  applications  of 
phosphorus  and  potassium  did  not  show  much  influence  on  the 
percentage  of  nitrogen  is  difficult  to  explain.  Perhaps  these  soils 
contain  enough  phosphorus  and  potassium  to  give  a good  growth 
of  the  legume  bacteria. 

The  Comparative  Effect  of  Calcium  Carbonate,  Calcium  Sul- 
fate, and  Calcium  Acetate  on  Growth  and  Total  Nitrogen 
of  Alfalfa  on  Colby  Silt  Loam 

This  experiment  was  planned  to  determine  the  comparative  ef- 
fect of  various  forms  of  calcium  on  the  growth  and  composition 
of  alfalfa.  Three  compounds  of  calcium  were  used:  the  car- 
bonate,- sulfate,  and  acetate.  Each  compound  was  applied  in 
molecular  equivalent  amounts  of  calcium  carbonate,  beginning 
with  calcium  carbonate  in  sufficient  quantity  to  neutralize  one- 
eighth,  one-fourth,  one-half,  and  all  of  the  active  acidity  of  the 
soil.  All  of  the  jars  were  thoroughly  inoculated  with  the  nodule 
bacteria  of  alfalfa.  Twenty-six  two-gallon  jars  were  filled  with 
8,182  grams  of  dry  Colby  silt  loam.  The  soil  required  8.4  tons 
of  lime  carbonate  to  neutralize  the  active  acidity.  The  lowest 
amount  that  was  added  amounted  to  1.05  tons  per  acre,  or  % of 
the  amount  necessary  to  correct  the  active  acidity.  The  jars  were 
seeded  to  alfalfa  June  30,  and  afterward  thinned  to  20  plants  per 
jar.  Growth  was  good  in  all  the  jars  except  in  those  where  large 
amounts  of  calcium  sulphate  were  added.  Here  the  alfalfa 
showed  early  signs  of  yellowing.  September  22  the  crop  was  har- 
vested and  the  roots  removed  from  the  soil  for  nodule  study  and 
for  analysis.  On  January  16,  these  same  jars  were  again  seeded 
to  alfalfa  and  thoroughly  inoculated.  Two  crops  were  cut,  the 
first  May  17,  and  the  second  July  2,  and  analyzed.  Here  again 
the  sulphate  treated  plants  were  the  poorest.  The  roots  were  re- 


Lime  and  Inoculation  for  Alfalfa  and  Clover  13 


moved  from  the  soil  and  analyzed  for  nitrogen.  Table  V shows 
the  total  weights  of  the  three  different  crops  and  of  nitrogen  con- 

Table  V. — Effect  of  Various  Calcium  Salts  on  Growth  and  Total 
Nitrogen  of  Alfalfa  on  Colby  Silt  Loam. 


Treatment 

Dry  w 

eights 

Nitr< 

ogen 

Nitrogen  in 

Equivalent 

Inoculation 

Salts 

amounts* 

Tops 

Roots 

Tops 

Roots 

Tops 

Roots 

gm. 

gm. 

mg. 

mg. 

per  ct. 

per  ct. 

Inoculated 

None 

None 

19.6 

13.7 

771.3 

3.94 

3.20 

Inoculated 

CaCOa 

y8 

30.4 

22.4 

1161.8 

324.3 

3.83 

1.45 

Inoculated 

CaS04 

y8 

21.2 

19.6 

808.8 

476.8 

3.82 

2.43 

Inoculated 

Ca(C2Ha02)2 

y8 

24.7 

21.9 

1061.3 

583.2 

4.30 

2.66 

Inoculated 

CaCOa 

y 

32.5 

21.8 

1305.3 

562.7 

4.02 

2.58 

Inoculated 

CaS04 

y 

23.5 

16.5 

853.5 

376.9 

3.63 

2.38 

Inoculated 

Ca(C2Ha02)2 

y 

27.7 

21.1 

1090.4 

522.0 

3.94 

2.46 

Inoculated 

CaCOa 

y 

35.9 

21.3 

1355.5 

587.9 

3.78 

2.76 

Inoculated 

CaS04 

y 

26.8 

16.5 

1004.8 

386.8 

3.75 

2.34 

Inoculated 

Ca(C2Ha02)2 

y 

36.9 

23.4 

1424.4 

807.3 

3.86 

2.60 

Inoculated 

CaCOa 

l 

35.6 

19.9 

1420.4 

555.7 

3.99 

2.79 

Inoculated ..... 

CaS04 

26.4 

19.9 

958.3 

452.9 

3.63 

2.28 

Inoculated 

Ca(C2Ha02)2 

1 

37.4 

20.9 

1526.0 

553.8 

4.08 

2.65 

* Of  calcium  carbonate. 

tained  in  the  alfalfa.  In  the  soil  treated  with  calcium  sulphate 
there  were  practically  no  nodules  and  the  roots  were  short,  show- 
ing signs  of  disease. 

Nitrogen  in  Alfalfa. — Of  the  three  different  calcium  salts, 
the  carbonate  in  small  amounts  proved  most  favorable  for  growth 
and  for  total  nitrogen  of  the  plants.  On  the  other  hand,  calcium 
acetate  gave  the  maximum  yield  and  also  maximum  amount  of 
nitrogen  when  applied  in  amounts  of  one-half  to  full  equivalent 
of  calcium  carbonate. 

FIELD  STUDIES 

Along  with  the  greenhouse  investigations,  field  studies  were 
made  of  the  Colby  silt  loam,  cropped  a#d  virgin.  Plot  tests  were 
carried  out  on  the  practically  virgin  soil  at  Marshfield  and  on  the 
long  cropped  soil  at  Curtiss. 

Effect  of  Inoculation  With  and  Without  Limestone  on  the 
Growth  and  Total  Nitrogen  of  Alfalfa  on  Colby 
Silt  Loam  at  Marshfield 

Two  plots  of  land,  each  58  by  114  feet,  were  divided  into  16 
sub-plots  of  12  by  54  feet,  or  8 sub-plots  in  each  plot.  These  were 
arranged  in  such  a way  that  each  treatment  was  duplicated.  Lime- 


14 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  54 


stone  was  added  at* the  rate  of  1,  3,  and  8 tons  to  the  acre,  respec- 
tively. Alfalfa  was  seeded  June  3 in  rows  16  inches  apart,  mak- 
ing 9 rows  in  all  for  each  sub-plot,  at  the  rate  of  20  pounds  per 
acre.  The  first  crop  was  cut  August  31.  At  this  time  the  inocu- 
lated no  lime  plots  were  yellow,  while  the  treated  plots  were  green. 
An  examination  of  the  roots  of  the  alfalfa  from  the  inoculated 
plot  showed  numerous  nodules,  but  all  near  the  surface.  Due  to 
leaf  spot  only  one  cutting  was  secured  the  following  season. 
This  crop  was  cut  July  5,  and  combined  with  the  one  obtained  the 
previous  August.  The  weights  of  the  two  crops  together  with 
their  total  nitrogen  are  recorded  in  Table  VI. 


Table  VI. — Effect  of  Inoculation  With  and  Without  Limestone  on 
Growth  and  Total  Nitrogen  of  Alfalfa  on  Colby  Silt  Loam. 


No. 

Treatment 

Dry  weight 
per  acre 

Nitrogen 

Nitrogen 

Inoculation 

1 

Uninoculated 

tons 

None 

lbs. 

1714.8 

lbs. 

46.2 

per  cent 
2.69 

2 

Inocuated 

None 

2866.2 

86.7 

3.02 

3 

Uninoculated 

1 limestone 

2944.6 

83.8 

2.85 

4 

Inoculated 

1 limestone 

2850.5 

89.1 

3.13 

5 

Uninoculated 

3 limestone 

3428.4 

103.6 

3.02 

6 

Inoculated 

3 limestone 

3779.7 

120.2 

3.18 

7 

Uninoculated 

8 limestone 

3685.1 

104.0 

2.82 

8 

Inoculated 

8 limestone 

3828.3 

120.4 

3.14 

Growth  and  Total  Nitrogen  of  Alfalfa. — From  the  figures  of 
the  table  it  will  be  seen  that  inoculation  alone  increased  the  yield 


Pounds  per  Acre 


- 

■ 

■ 

1 

nm 

1 

1 

I 

i 

1 

1 

1 

4000 


3000 


Z000 


\000 


Uninoculated 


Inoculated 


uninoculateo 


Inoculated 


Uninoculatm 


Inoculated 


Uninoculated 


Inoculated 


No  Lime 


One  Ton 


Three  Tons 


Eight  Tons 


FIG.  3.— GROWTH  OF  ALFALFA  ON  COLBY  SILT  LOAM. 

The  difference  in  height  of  columns  shows  the  effect  of  inoculation  and 
lime  on  growth  of  alfalfa. 


Lime  and  Inoculation  for  Alfalfa  and  Clover  15 


of  the  two  crops  of  alfalfa  1,151.4  pounds  per  acre.  This  increase 
amounts  to  67.1  per  cent.  When  3 tons  of  limestone  were  added 
and  the  seed  inoculated  the  increased  yield  was  2,064.9  pounds  or 
120.4  per  cent.  Still  more  marked  increases  were  obtained  when 
8 tons  of  limestone  were  added.  Figures  3 and  4 show  the  effect 
of  treatments  on  yield  and  amount  of  nitrogen. 


FIG.  4.— NITROGEN  IN  ALFALFA  FROM  COLBY  SILT  LOAM. 

The  difference  in  height  of  columns  shows  the  effect  of  inoculation  and 
of  lime  on  the  total  nitrogen  of  alfalfa. 


The  nodule  bacteria  alone  increased  the  nitrogen  of  the  crop 
40.5  pounds  or  87.7  per  cent.  Adding  limestone  at  the  rate  of  3 
tons  per  acre  and  inoculation  increased  the  nitrogen  content  74.0 
pounds  or  160.2  per  cent.  Additional  limestone  did  not  increase 
the  total  nitrogen  of  the  crop. 


Effect  of  Inoculation,  Limestone,  and  Bone  Meal  on  Yield  and 
Total  Nitrogen  of  Alfalfa  on  Colby  Silt  Loam  at  Curtiss 

Two  plots  of  land  20  by  160  feet  were  divided  into  20  sub-plots 
16  by  20  feet.  These  were  arranged  in  such  a way  that  each 
treatment  was  duplicated.  Limestone  was  added  at  the  rate  of 
1,  3,  and  5 tons  per  acre,  respectively.  Plots  three  to  ten,  inclu- 
sive, received  in  addition  steamed  bone  meal  at  the  rate  of  400 
pounds  per  acre.  Alfalfa  was  seeded  May  12  in  rows  16  inches 


16 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  54 


apart  at  the  rate  of  16  pounds  per  acre.  Because  of  a drouth  only 
one  crop  was  harvested.  The  weights  of  this  crop  and  the  total 
nitrogen  are  recorded  in  Table  VII. 


Table  VII. — Effect  of  Inoculation  With  and  Without  Limestone  on 
Growth  and  Nitrogen  Content  of  Alfalfa  on 
Cropped  Colby  Silt  Loam. 


No. 

Treatment 

Dry 

weights  per 
acre 

Nitrogen 

Nitrogen  in 

Inoculation 

j 

Uninoculated 

tons 

None 

None 

lbs. 

876.2 

lbs. 

29.3 

per  cent 
3.35 

2 

Inoculated 

None 

None 

1369.9 

48.2 

3.53 

3 

Uninoculated 

None 

Bone  meal 

1118.9 

36.0 

3.23 

4 

Uninoculated 

1 limestone 

Bone  meal 

1141.6 

40.8 

3.63 

5 

Inoculated 

1 limestone 

Bone  meal 

1264.3 

45.8 

3.61 

6 

Uninoculated 

3 limestone 

Bone  meal 

1143.1 

42.5 

3.73 

7 

Inoculated  

3 limestone 

Bone  meal 

1405.4 

48.5 

3.46 

8 

Uninoculated 

5 limestone 

Bone  meal  

1246.6 

45.6 

3.67 

9 

Inoculated 

5 limestone 

Bone  meal 

1062.1 

36.7 

3.49 

Growth  and  Nitrogen  of  Alfalfa. — The  addition  of  nodule 
bacteria  alone  increased  the  yield  493.7  pounds.  This  is  a 
gain  of  56.3  per  cent.  Where  bone  meal  was  added  and  3 tons  of 
limestone  the  increase  due  to  inoculation  was  262.3  pounds  or  22.9 
per  cent.  In  every  case  except  one  the  use  of  nodule  bacteria  re- 
sulted in  an  increase  in  the  total  nitrogen.  Inoculation  alone 
caused  a gain  of  64.5  per  cent  of  nitrogen. 

The  Effect  of  Growing  Alfalfa  and  Clover  on  the  Nitrogen 

Balance 

In  order  to  obtain  information  about  the  amount  of  nitrogen 
taken  from  the  atmosphere  by  inoculated  legumes  it  is  necessary 
to  measure  the  total  amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  soil  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  experiment  and  again  at  the  end,  also  to  take  into 
account  the  amount  of  nitrogen  removed  by  the  crops  and  the 
amount  added  in  the  seeds.  The  data  in  Tables  VIII,  IX,  and  X 
were  compiled  to  show  the  amounts  of  nitrogen  taken  from  the 
atmosphere  by  alfalfa  and  clover  under  a wide  range  of  treat- 
ment. The  method  of  calculation  adopted  was  to  assume  that  one 
gram  of  tissue  or  of  nitrogen  per  jar  of  10j4  inches  in  diameter 
corresponds  to  one  pound  per  square  rod  or  to  160  pounds  per 
acre.*  Where  jars  of  different  diameters  were  used  a correspond- 
ing factor  was  adopted.  This  method  of  procedure  may  exagger- 
ate the  results  obtained  because  larger  crops  can  be  grown  in  jars 


* Hopkins,  C.  G.,  1903.  111.  Agr.  Expt.  Station  Bui.  76,  pp.  311-353. 


Lime  and  Inoculation  for  Alfalfa  and  Clover  17 

than  on  the  same  area  under  field  conditions,  but  it  serves  for 
comparative  purposes.  In  Table  VIII  are  the  figures  which  show 
the  nitrogen  balance  in  Colby  silt  loam  after  the  growth  of  alfalfa. 
The  data  were  compiled  from  the  figures  of  Table  I.  The  fig- 
ures in  Column  A are  the  amounts  of  nitrogen  in  the  soil  at  the 
end.  These  figures  are  average  amounts  of  duplicate  jars  calcu- 
lated on  the  acre  basis  according  to  the  plan  adopted.  In  column 
B are  given  the  differences  in  amount  of  nitrogen  of  the  soil  at 
the  beginning  and  at  the  end.  The  amount  of  nitrogen  fixed  from 
the  air  per  acre  under  the  various  conditions  is  indicated  by  the 
figures  in  column  F.  These  were  obtained  by  subtracting  B 
from  E. 

Without  exception  the  nitrogen  in  the  roots  and  nodules  was 
not  sufficient  to  compensate  for  the  loss  of  this  element  from  the 
soil  due  to  the  crop.  This  fact  is  significant,  for  it  shows  that 
when  all  of  the  tops  are  removed  for  hay  the  soil  will  be  poorer 
in  nitrogen  than  before  cropping.  Of  course,  under  field  condi- 
tions a larger  portion  of  the  tops  will  be  left  on  the  land  to  be 
plowed  under,  thus  in  a measure  making  up  for  the  loss  occa- 
sioned by  the  removal  of  the  crop.  The  nitrogen  in  the  roots  and 
stubble  of  legumes  under  good  conditions  will  become  available 
more  readily  than  that  of  old  humus  in  the  soil,  hence  the  residue 
from  legumes  is  beneficial. 

The  amount  of  nitrogen  fixed  from  the  atmosphere  varied  con- 
siderably in  the  jars  receiving  different  treatments.  The  average 
for  all  jars  regardless  of  treatment  amounted  to  271.0  pounds  of 
nitrogen  per  acre.*  If  the  jars  are  grouped  according  to  the 
amounts  of  lime  added,  the  average  fixation  for  the  2j4-ton  group 
was  296.8  pounds ; for  the  5-ton  group,  omitting  the  one  without 
phosphorus  and  potassium,  324.9  pounds;  for  the  7^-ton  group, 
312.1  pounds;  for  the  10-ton  group,  262.8  pounds;  and  for  the 
15-ton  group,  218.6  pounds.  If  the  jars  without  phosphorus  and 
potassium  are  omitted  then  the  fixation  for  the  2^-ton  group  was 
318.7  pounds;  for  the  5-ton  group,  324.9  pounds;  for  the  7l/2- ton 
group,  337.1  pounds;  for  the  10-ton  group,  263.7  pounds;  and 
for  the  15-ton  group,  201.6  pounds.  As  an  average  for  all  jars 
there  were  209.0  pounds  of  nitrogen  in  the  roots  as  compared  to 
an  average  total  of  671.8  pounds  for  roots  and  tops ; thus  about  31 
per  cent  of  the  total  nitrogen  in  alfalfa  is  in  the  roots  and  stubble. 

♦The  figures  represent  the  nitrogen  fixed  by  all  three  cuttings  of 
alfalfa. 


18 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  54 


On  the  average  for  all  jars  400.8  pounds  of  nitrogen  were  taken 
from  the  soil  to  produce  the  three  cuttings  of  alfalfa,  stems  and 
roots.  Accordingly,  40.3  per  cent  of  the  total  nitrogen  came  from 
the  air  and  59.7  per  cent  from  the  soil.  There  is  a wide  variation 
in  fixation  of  nitrogen  due  to  the  various  treatments;  where  no 
lime  or  fertilizer  was  added  the  greatest  percentage  fixation  from 
the  air  resulted.  In  the  three  series  to  which  lime,  phosphorus, 
and  potassium  were  added,  there  was  a decline  in  percentage  fixa- 
tion from  an  average  of  50.2  per  cent  where  2 y2  tons  per  acre  of 
lime  were  added,  to  29.8  per  cent  where  15  tons  of  lime  were 
added.  This  condition  was  not  found  where  lime  only  was  added, 
although  in  all  cases  the  percentage  fixation  was  lower  where 
lime  was  added  than  where  no  lime  was  added.  When  it  is  con- 
sidered that  the  nitrogen  in  the  roots  is  returned  to  the  soil  then 
an  average  of  191.8  pounds  of  nitrogen  from  the  soil  was  re- 
quired to  produce  the  crops.  This  is  41.4  per  cent  of  the  total 
nitrogen  removed  by  the  crops. 

Table  VIII. — Nitrogen  Balance  in  Colby  Silt  Loam  After  Growinq 

Alfalfa. 

(All  figures  on  the  acre  basis.  All  jars  inoculated.) 


No. 

Treatment 

Average  total  ni- 
trogen in  soil  at 
beginning  plus 
seed  4466.8  lbs. 

Average  total  nitrogen 
which  crops  removed 

Nitrogen 

fixed 

from 

Taken 

air 

Calcium  carbonate 

Potassium  phosphate 

In  soil 

from  soil 

Tops 

Roots 

Total 

at  end 

by  crops 

A 

B 

C 

D 

E 

F 

tons 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

1 

None 

None 

4285.4 

—181.4 

296.9 

178.5 

475.4 

294.0 

2 

2%  precipitated . . . 

None 

4040.3 

—426.5 

434.1 

223.7 

657.8 

231.3 

3 

5 precipitated... 

None 

3877.7 

—589.1 

465.2 

204.3 

674.3 

85.2 

4 

7K  precipitated.. . 

None 

3929.3 

—537.5 

515.1 

259.7 

774.8 

237.3 

5 

10  precipitated . . . 

None 

4001.6 

—465.2 

532.8 

192.9 

725.7 

260.5 

6 

15  precipitated... 

None 

4019.6 

— 447.2 

479.9 

236.7 

716.6 

269.4 

7 

None 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

4238.9 

— 227.9 

294.3 

180.1 

474.4 

246.5 

8 

2K  precipitated . . . 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

4161.5 

— 305.3 

425.9 

183.6 

609.5 

304.2 

9 

5 precipitated . . . 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

4035.1 

— 431.7 

488.5 

230.7 

719.2 

287.5 

10 

7K  precipitated . . . 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

4079.0 

— 387.8 

516.0 

212.4 

728.4 

340.6 

11 

10  precipitated... 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

4024.8 

— 442.0 

518.7 

216.6 

735.3 

293.3 

12 

15  precipitated . . . 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

3996.4 

—470.4 

521.0 

198.1 

719.1 

248.7 

13 

2A  fine 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

4174.4 

—292.4 

447.8 

205.5 

653.3 

360.9 

14 

5 fine 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

4143.5 

—323.3 

491.0 

225.6 

716.6 

393.3 

15 

7K  fine 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

4081.6 

—385.2- 

496.1 

205.4 

701.5 

316.3 

16 

10  fine 

Potassium  phosphate.. 

4030.0 

—436.8 

493.7 

219.1 

712.8 

276.0 

17 

15  fine 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

3955.1 

—511.7 

444.4 

206.4 

650.8 

139.1 

18 

2A  coarse 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

4115.1 

—351.7 

429.6 

213.1 

642.7 

291.0 

19 

5 coarse 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

4107.4 

—359.4 

457.9 

195.5 

653.4 

294.0 

20 

VA  coarse 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

4143.5 

—323.3 

476.9 

200.7 

677.6 

354.3 

21 

10  coarse 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

3988.7 

—478.1 

488.1 

211.8 

699.9 

221.8 

22 

15  coarse 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

4022.2 

—444.6 

463.3 

198.5 

661.8 

217.2 

Lime  and  Inoculation  for  Alfalfa  and  Clover  19 


Table  IX. — Nitrogen  Balance  in  Plainfield  Sand  After  Growing 

Alfalfa. 


• 

Treatment 

Average  total 
nitrogen  in  soil 
at  beginning 
plus  seeds 
1136.0  lbs. 

Average  total 
nitrogen  which 
crops  removed 

Nitro- 

gen 

fixed 

from 

WO. 

Taken 

air 

Inoculation 

Calcium 

In  soil 

from  soil 

Tops 

Roots 

Total 

carbonate 

at  end 

by  crops 

Tons 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

i 

Uninoculated. . . 

None 

None 

1168.7 

-f-  32.7 

60.5 

20.7 

81.2 

113.9 

2 

Tnncnlated 

None 

None 

1109  4 

— 26  6 

163.9 

73.4 

237.3 

210.7 

3 

Uninoculated. . . 

2K  precipitated 

None 

988.1 

—147.9 

117.8 

36.3 

154.1 

6.2* 

4 

Inoculated 

2K  precipitated 

None 

1034.6 

—101.4 

248.2 

100.6 

348.8 

247.4 

5 

Uninoculated. . . 

None 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

1065.5 

— 70.5 

247.4 

119.1 

366.5 

296.0 

6 

Inoculated 

None 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

1055.2 

— 80.8 

254.1 

141.4 

395.5 

314.7 

7 

Uninoculated. . . 

IK  precipitated 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

1042.3 

— 93.7 

242.2 

106.0 

348.2 

254.5 

8 

Inoculated 

IK  precipitated 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

1055.2 

— 80.8 

286.0 

118.1 

404.1 

323.3 

9 

Uninoculated. . . 

2K  precipitated 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

962.3 

—173.7 

227.9 

89.7 

317.6 

143.9 

10 

Inoculated 

2K  precipitated 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

970.1 

—165.9 

249.3 

105.2 

354.5 

188.6 

11 

Uninoculated. . . 

5 precipitated 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

1006.2 

—129.8 

176.7 

68.1 

244.8 

115.0 

12 

Inoculated 

5 precipitated 

Potassium  phosphate. . 

1011.4 

—124.6 

176.5 

85.4 

261.9 

137.3 

* Authors  are  unable  to  explain  this  figure. 


In  Table  IX  are  recorded  the  figures  which  show  the  nitrogen 
balance  in  Plainfield  sand  after  the  growth  of  alfalfa.  These  fig- 
ures were  compiled  from  the  results  recorded  in  Table  III  and 
the  results  of  the  analyses  of  the  soil  at  the  beginning  and  at  the 
end  of  the  experiment.  The  figures  for  the  various  columns  were 
obtained  in  the  same  way  as  explained  for  Table  VIII. 

The  results  indicate  that  inoculation  alone  was  effective  in  in- 
creasing the  amount  of  nitrogen  fixed  from  the  atmosphere.  Fix- 
ation was  greater  where  small  amounts  of  calcium  carbonate  were 
added  than  where  large  amounts  were  used.  Where  5 tons  per 
acre  of  calcium  carbonate  were  applied  in  addition  to  phosphorus 
and  potassium,  the  fixation  due  to  inoculation  was  22.3  pounds,* 
whereas  68.8  pounds  were  fixed  where  only  1 J4  tons  of  calcium 
carbonate  were  added.  An  average  of  all  uninoculated  jars 
treated  with  calcium  carbonate,  phosphorus,  and  potassium  showed 
a fixation  of  171.1  pounds,  and  the  inoculated  series  216.4  pounds. 
Inoculation  in  many  cases  reduced  the  loss  of  nitrogen  from  the 
soil  due  to  cropping.  Calcium  carbonate  did  not  decrease  the 
amount  of  nitrogen  taken  from  the  soil  by  the  crop.  In  a few 
cases  there  was  an  actual  gain  of  nitrogen  to  the  soil  if  the  roots 
were  returned.  This  arrangement,  of  course,  obtains  under  field 
conditions. 

In  the  series  treated  with  lime,  phosphorus,  and  potassium  there 
was  on  the  average  303.5  pounds  of  nitrogen  in  the  tops  and  roots 

♦The  figures  represent  the  sum  of  three  cuttings  and  two  sets  of  roots. 


20 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  54 


of  the  uninoculated  crops  compared  to  an  average  of  340.1 
pounds  in  the  inoculated  crops.  When  these  weights  are  com- 
pared with  those  of  the  nitrogen  taken  from- the  soil,  it  is 
found  that  where  the  crops  were  uninoculated  43.6  per  cent  of 
the  nitrogen  came  from  the  soil,  and  where  the  crops  were  inocu- 
lated 36.1  per  cent  came  from  the  soil.  If  it  is  assumed  that  the 
nitrogen  in  the  roots  is  returned  to  the  soil,  then  20.4  per  cent  of 
the  nitrogen  in  the  crops  that  were  uninoculated  came  from  the 
soil  and  where  the  crops  were  inoculated  8.8  per  cent  of  the 
nitrogen  came  from  the  soil.  Inoculation  was  beneficial  in  in- 
creasing the  fixation  from  the  atmosphere. 


Table  X. — The  Nitrogen  Balance  in  Plainfield  Sand  After  Growing 

Clover. 


No. 

Treatment 

Average  total  nitrogen 
in  soil  at  beginning 
plus  seeds  1136.4  lbs. 

Nitrogen 

in 

crop 

Nitrogen 
fixed 
from  air 

Inoculation 

Calcium 

carbonate 

In  soil  at 
end  plus 
roots 

Takenfrom 
soil  by 
crop 

Tons 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

1 

Uninoculated. . 

None None 

1062.4 

—74.0 

110.1 

36.1 

2 

Inoculated 

None None 

1081.9 

—54.5 

149.5 

95.0 

3 

Uninoculated. . 

2K  precipitated  None 

987.3 

-149.1 

137.8 

—11.3 

4 

Inoculated 

2K  precipitatedNone 

1055.6 

—80.8 

144.3 

63.5 

5 

Uninoculated. . 

None Potassium  phosphate. . 

1083.8 

—52.6 

290.7 

238.1 

6 

Inoculated 

None Potassium  phosphate.. 

1041.1 

— 95.3 

295.8 

200.5 

7 

Uninoculated. . 

IK  precipitatedPotassium  phosphate. . 

1145.2 

+ 9.2 

318.7 

327.9 

8 

Inoculated 

IK  precipitatedPotassium  phosphate. . 

1102.0 

—34.4 

314.4 

280.0 

9 

Uninoculated. . 

2K  precipitatedPotassium  phosphate. . 

997.8 

—138.6 

245.6 

107.0 

10 

Inoculated 

2K  precipitatedPotassium  phosphate  . 

983.2 

—153.2 

298.8 

145.6 

11 

Uninoculated. . 

5 precipitatedPotassium  phosphate. . 

998.8 

—137.6 

299.9 

162.3 

12 

Inoculated 

5 precipitatedPotassium  phosphate. . 

965.7 

—170.7 

195.7 

25.0 

In  Table  X are  recorded  the  figures  resulting  from  the  growth 
of  clover  on  Plainfield  sand.  Since  one  crop  of  roots  was  re- 
turned to  the  soil  before  the  soil  was  analyzed,  the  data  in  the  first 
column  of  figures  in  the  table  includes  the  nitrogen  in  the  roots. 
The  third  column  shows  only  the  total  nitrogen  of  the  tops.  The 
results  indicate  that  the  soil,  including  the  roots,  with  one  excep- 
tion, was  lower  in  nitrogen  after  cropping  than  before.  Although 
there  was  considerable  fixation  from  the  atmosphere,  inoculation 
was  not  consistently  effective  in  increasing  the  amount. 

SUMMARY 

The  two  types  of  soil,  Colby  silt  loam  and  Plainfield  sand,  used 
in  this  study  represent  large  areas  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin. 
These  soil  types  were  analyzed  for  degree  of  acidity  and  for  active 
acidity  by  chemical  methods.  The  effect  of  various  kinds  of  lime, 


Lime  and  Inoculation  for  Alfalfa  and  Clover  21 


of  various  forms  of  phosphate,  and  of  nodule  bacteria  was 
studied.  Both  field  and  greenhouse  tests  with  clover  and  alfalfa 
were  carried  out. 

Lime  carbonate  when  applied  to  acid  Colby  silt  loam  which  had 
not  been  cropped  for  many  years  increased  the  yield  and  the  total 
nitrogen  in  alfalfa.  The  largest  applications  did  not  always  pro- 
duce the  largest  yields.  Two  and  one-half  to  seven  and  one-half 
tons  per  acre  of  calcium  carbonate  gave  increases  in  yield  nearly 
as  large  as  where  larger  applications  were  made.  When  all  three 
crops  were  added  together,  an  increase  of  70.3  per  cent  in  crop 
yield  resulted  where  ten  tons  per  acre  of  calcium  carbonate  were 
added. 

The  amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  three  crops  was  increased  79.4 
per  cent  where  the  ten  tons  per  acre  of  calcium  carbonate  were 
added.  With  few  exceptions  the  percentage  of  nitrogen  in  the 
limed  series  was  increased.  The  addition  of  phosphorus  and 
potassium  to  virgin  Colby  silt  loam  did  not  give  increases  suffi- 
cient to  warrant  recommending  their  use  for  alfalfa. 

The  results  obtained  in  the  greenhouse  when  cropped  Colby 
silt  loam  was  used  indicate  that  these  soils  need  inoculation,  lime- 
stone, and  undoubtedly  in  many  cases  phosphate  fertilizers.  In- 
oculation alone  increased  the  yield  15.6  per  cent,  and  where  lime 
and  inoculation  were  supplied  the  increase  amounted  to  49.7  per 
cent.  Where  the  soil  was  treated  with  lime  and  inoculation  the 
increase  in  nitrogen  content  amounted  to  52.3  per  cent. 

Very  marked  increases  in  crop  yields  and  of  nitrogen  resulted 
from  the  use  of  inoculation  and  lime,  and  of  phosphorus  and 
potassium  on  Plainfield  sand.  Inoculation  alone  nearly  doubled 
the  crop  yield.  Calcium  carbonate  in  addition  to  inoculation  re- 
sulted in  increasing  the  yield  182.8  per  cent. 

The  nitrogen  of  the  crops  that  were  inoculated  was  171.2  per 
cent  greater  than  that  of  the  untreated  control.  Where  two  and 
one-half  tons  per  acre  of  calcium  carbonate  were  added  in  addi- 
tion to  inoculation,  the  increased  crop  yield  was  310.7  per  cent 
more  than  the  control.  In  nearly  every  case  inoculation  increased 
the  percentage  of  nitrogen  in  the  roots. 

Because  the  soil  was  naturally  infected  with  the  clover  bacteria, 
this  crop  did  not  show  a uniform  gain  in  yield  and  nitrogen  from 
inoculation.  The  addition  of  phosphorus  and  potassium  greatly 


22 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  54 


increased  the  yield  and  total  nitrogen.  Where  lime  was  added  in 
addition  to  phosphorus  and  potassium  no  material  increase  in  crop 
growth  and  nitrogen  content  resulted. 

Field  studies  indicate  that  Colby  silt  loam  soil  requires  inocu- 
lation and  limestone  before  good  crops  of  alfalfa  can  be  grown. 
Inoculation  of  soil  at  Marshfield  resulted  in  a crop  increase  of 
67.1  per  cent.  When  inoculation  was  reinforced  by  the  use  of 
limestone  the  increase  amounted  to  120.4  per  cent.  The  inoculated 
crop  contained  87.7  per  cent  more  nitrogen  than  did  the  control. 
The  crop  grown  on  inoculated  soil  treated  with  3 tons  per  acre  of 
ground  limestone  contained  160.2  per  cent  more  nitrogen  than  did 
the  control.  The  percentage  of  nitrogen  was  markedly  increased 
by  inoculation.  On  the  cropped  Colby  silt  loam  at  Curtiss,  in- 
oculation alone  increased  the  crop  yield  56.3  per  cent.  The  higher 
percentage  of  nitrogen  in  the  alfalfa  and  in  some  cases  in  the  clo- 
ver from  the  inoculated  and  limed  jars  and  plots  can  be  explained 
on  the  ground  that  the  bacteria  find  conditions  more  favorable  for 
nodule  formation  and  hence  more  nitrogen  of  the  air  is  absorbed 
by  the  plant. 

A study  of  the  nitrogen  content  of  the  soils  at  the  beginning  and 
at  the  end  of  the  experiments  shows  that  a large  percentage  of 
the  nitrogen  in  the  crops  comes  from  the  soil.  In  only  a few  cases 
was  there  an  actual  gain  in  nitrogen  to  the  soil  due  to  cropping  to 
alfalfa  and  clover  (portion  above  ground  cut  and  removed)  and 
most  of  these  gains  were  in  the  Plainfield  sand. 

Inoculation  for  alfalfa  and  in  some  cases  for  clover  increases 
the  amount  of  nitrogen  these  plants  take  from  the  air. 


Research  Bulletin  65 


September,  1922 

An  Experimental  Study  of 
Infectious  Abortion  in  Swine 


F.  B.  HADLEY  AND  B.  A.  BEACH 


AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION 
OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 
MADISON 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Prevalence  and  Knowledge  of  Abortion  in  Swine 1 

Abortion  in  pure-bred  herds  in  Wisconsin 1 

Abortion  in  the  University  herd 2 

Investigations  at  other  experiment  stations.. 2 

Scope  of  this  investigation 2 

The  Cause  of  Infectious  Swine  Abortion 3 

Isolation  of  bacillus  abortus  from  swine 3 

Tests  to  differentiate  between  strains  of  the  organism  3 

Relationship  of  Abortion  in  Swine  and  Cattle 5 

Pathogenicity  of  porcine  abortion  bacilli  for  sows 6 

Pathogenicity  of  bovine  abortion  bacilli  for  sows 6 

Susceptibility  of  heifers  to  porcine  and  bovine  strains  9 

Ways  by  Which  Abortion  Is  Contracted  and  Transmitted  10 

Effects  of  feeding  abortion  bacilli  to  gilts ; 11 

Effects  of  injecting  the  bacilli  into  the  blood 12 

Transmission  by  boar  infected  in  the  sheath 18 

The  Period  of  Incubation  19 

An  experiment  to  determine  this  period 20 

Ratio  of  incubation  period  to  gestation  period 20 

Period  of  pregnancy  when  abortion  occurs 21 

Methods  of  Diagnosing  Infectious  Abortion 21 

The  intradermic  test 22 

Bacteriologic  tests  23 

Serologic  or  blood  tests 25 

The  Production  of  Immunity  27 

Immunization  with  killed  bacilli  (abortion  bacterin) 27 

Immunization  with  living  bacilli  (abortion  vaccine)....  28 
Naturally  acquired  or  spontaneous  immunity  30 

Summary  and  Deductions  32 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infec- 
tious Abortion  in  Swine 

F.  B.  Hadley  and  B.  A.  Beach 

PREVALENCE  AND  KNOWLEDGE  OF  ABORTION  IN 

SWINE 

Abortion  in  Pure-Bred  Herds  in  Wisconsin 

REPORTS  of  a few  sporadic  outbreaks  of  abortion  in  sows 
have  been  received  by  the  College  of  Agriculture  from 
^ swine  raisers  in  various  parts  of  Wisconsin  every  year 
during  the  past  decade.  It  was  not  until  early  in  1920,  however, 
that  these  reports  became  numerous  enough  to  indicate  that  the 
disease  was  assuming  the  nature  of  an  enzootic  and  becoming  a 
menace  to  the  industry.  A questionnaire  mailed  at  that  time  was 
returned  by  188  breeders  of  pure-bred  swine  in  the  state.1  The 
returns  showed  that  45,  or  about  24  per  cent  of  those  who  replied, 
had  had  abortions  in  their  herds.  Most  of  the  losses  reported 
occurred  during  the  years  1918,  1919  and  1920.  While  not  all 
were  certain  that  these  losses  had  been  caused  by  infection,  it 
was  evident  that  sows  in  many  of  these  pure-bred  herds  aborted 
as  the  result  of  an  apparently  infectious  disease  that  was  becom- 
ing more  prevalent  and  widespread. 

Another  important  fact  revealed  by  the  answers  to  this  ques- 
tionnaire was  that  infectious  abortion  in  swine  may  apparently 
disappear  from  the  herd  as  precipitously  as  it  appeared.  We  say 
apparently,  because  the  mere  fact  that  no  further  abortions  occur 
does  not  mean  that  infection  itself  has  disappeared,  but  that  the 
swine  in  the  herd  have  developed  a protective  resistance  or  im- 
munity. Experiences  of  this  kind  are  exactly  comparable  with 
those  occurring  in  herds  of  cattle  infected  with  contagious  abor- 
tion. The  unfortunate  thing  is  that  one  cannot  depend  on  such  a 
favorable  outcome,  so  to  be  on  the  safe  side  each  outbreak  of 
abortion  in  either  swine  or  cattle  must  be  handled  as  if  it  would 
be  certain  to  result  in  losses  in  the  herd  year  after  year. 


2 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


Portion  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin  Herd 

Previbus  to  1920  there  had  never  been  a recognized  case  of  in- 
fectious abortion  in  the  sows  composing  the  breeding  herd  owned 
by  the  University.  In  February,  1920,  three  bred  sows  were  pur- 
chased at  two  different  sales  and  placed  with  the  herd.  Shortly 
afterward  two  of  these  three  newly  purchased  sows  aborted. 
Tests  of  their  blood  serum  revealed  those  substances  (antibodies) 
produced  only  as  a result  of  the  presence  of  the  abortion  bacilli 
in  the  tissues  of  the  hog.  Within  six  months  after  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  purchased  animals  about  25  per  cent  of  the  sows  in 
the  herd  either  aborted  or  failed  to  farrow,  although  thought  to 
have  been  safely  bred.  Blood  samples  were  taken  from  every 
hog  in  the  herd  and  the  blood  sera  were  tested  for  abortion. 

This  was  the  first  opportunity  we  had  to  test  the  blood  of  all 
the  swine  in  a large  herd  and  in  this  way  to  get  a line  upon  the 
agglutination  test  as  a means  of  diagnosis.  Only  one  of  the  five 
boars  reacted  with  the  test,  while  51  of  the  83  sows  reacted,  or  62 
per  cent.  Within  a few  weeks  after  the  test  had  been  made  30, 
or  58  per  cent  of  these  51  sows  had  aborted,  which  shows  that  the 
test  is  a reliable  means  of  detecting  animals  infected  with  the  dis- 
ease, especially  as  no  sow  aborted  which  did  not  react. 

Investigations  at  Other  Experiment  Stations 

The  only  significant  investigational  work  relative  to  swine 
abortion  that  had  been  conducted  up  to  that  time  was  very  limited 
in  scope2  3 4 5.  A study  of  these  reports  left  one  entirely  in  the 
dark  as  to  many  important  phases  of  the  disease.  Since  it  was 
feared  that  swine  abortion  might  at  any  time  assume  the  nature  of 
an  epizootic,  and  in  order  that  the  Experiment  Station  might  be 
in  a position  to  aid  veterinarians  and  farmers  in  the  control  of 
the  disease,  it  was  decided  to  carry  out  some  experiments  to  learn 
more  about  the  affection.0  After  the  work  to  be  described  was 
started,  two  excellent  reports  on  swine  abortion  came  from  the 
press.7  8 Our  results  differ  somewhat  from  those  reported  in  the 
papers  referred  to,  so  interested  readers  would  find  it  instuctive 
to  compare  them. 

Scope  of  This  Investigation 

It  was  evident  from  the  first  that  the  problem  presented  various 
angles  and  that  many  experiments  of  different  types  would  need 
to  be  conducted  to  secure  definite  knowledge  regarding  the  nature 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion 


3 


and  control  of  the  disease.  The  plan  of  the  project  as  originally 
outlined  stated  the  objects  to  be  a study  of  (1)  the  inf ectious  or- 
ganism; (2)  the  relationship  between  infectious  abortion  in  cattle 
and  swine;  (3)  the  mode  of  transmission;  (4)  the  incubation 
period;  (5)  the  period  of  communicability;  (6)  means  of  con- 
trol. Under  the  latter  head  it  was  planned  to  study  (a)  methods 
of  recognizing  the  disease;  (b)  isolation  measures;  (c)  the  pro- 
duction of  immunity;  (d)  quarantine  measures;  (e)  disinfection 
measures.  Only  a part  of  the  work  as  outlined  has  been  done  as 
yet;  but  since  several  years  must  elapse  before  all  of  it  can  be 
completed,  it  seems  desirable  to  report  the  results  of  the  prelim- 
inary investigations  in  order  that  veterinarians  and  swine  breed- 
ers may  have  the  information  for  use  in  their  efforts  to  keep  the 
disease  under  control. 

THE  CAUSE  OF  INFECTIOUS  SWINE  ABORTION 

Every  outbreak  of  the  infectious  form  of  abortion  in  swine  so 
far  studied  in  our  laboratory  has  been  found  to  be  caused  by  a 
specific  microorganism  which  is  known  as  bacillus  abortus.* 

Isolation  of  Bacillus  Abortus  From  Swine 

The  first  problem  was  to  isolate  the  microbe  causing  swine 
abortion  from  material  secured  from  sows  which  had  aborted  and 
from  their  aborted  fetuses.  It  proved  to  be  much  easier  to  re- 
cover the  organism  from  porcine  sources  than  it  had  been  from 
bovine  sources.  This  was  on  account  of  the  more  rapid  and 
luxuriant  growth  which  it  makes  on  artificial  culture  media,  par- 
ticularly pork  agar.**  The  two  strains  that  were  isolated  were 
designated  Wis.  507  and  Wis.  93  after  the  sows  from  which  they 
were  recovered  (Fig.  1),  The  507  strain  was  proved  to  be  spe- 
cific by  inoculating  it  into  a pregnant  sow  which  aborted  21  days 
later.  Both  of  these  strains  were  completely  agglutinated  by  a 
known  positive  serum. 

Tests  to  Differentiate  Between  Strains  of  the  Organism 

The  strains  of  the  porcine  abortion  organism,  when  compared 
with  strains  of  B.  abortus  secured  from  cattle,  were  found  to  be 

* For  a more  comprehensive  description  of  this  organism,  as  well  as  for  a 
discussion  of  the  causes  of  other  forms  of  abortion,  see  Wis.  Agr.  Expt.  Sta. 
Bui.  296,  Contagious  Abortion  Questions  Ansivered. 

**The  technique  of  isolating  the  organism  is  described  under  the  section  en- 
titled “Bacteriologic  Tests”  on  page  23. 


4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


Fig-.  1. — A SOW  INFECTED  WITH  ABORTION 

From  one  of  her  fetuses  strain  507  of  abortion  bacilli  was  recovered. 
She  aborted  first  in  1920,  but  farrowed  normal  litters  in  1921  and  1922. 

morphologically  the  same  when  examined  under  the  microscope. 
Some  difference  was  observed  between  abortion  bacilli  of  bovine 
and  porcine  origins  when  washing  mass  cultures  \\bth  a normal 
salt  solution.  The  porcine  strains  were  noticed  to  be  distinctly 
shiny  and  tenacious  and  when  washed  in  salt  solution  formed  a 
mass  in  the  centrifuge  cups  that  was  harder  to  break  up  than 
that  composed  of  bovine  strains. 

The  preliminary  agglutinin  absorption  tests  with  blood  serum 
indicate  that  there  may  be  some  biologic  differences  between 
strains  of  porcine  and  bovine  origin.  Tests  designed  to  absorb 
the  agglutinins  developed  in  rabbits  as  a result  of  immunizing 
them  with  the  bovine  and  porcine  strains  respectively  are  all  not  as 
yet  completed,  so  conclusions  must  be  reserved  until  later.  The 
fact  that  the  blood  sera  used  in  this  work  were  from  different 
animal  species  must  be  taken  into  consideration,  as  it  has  been 
found  that  this  influences  the  quality  and  nature  of  the  produced 
agglutinin. 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  5 


The  results  of  inoculation  tests  on  guinea  pigs  with  porcine 
strains  show  the  latter  are  more  highly  pathogenic  for  these  ex- 
perimental animals  than  are  bovine  strains.  Rather  large  ab- 
scesses have  developed  in  some  of  the  guinea  pigs  and  rabbits  in- 
oculated with  strains  of  abortion  bacilli  of  porcine  origin,  while 
control  animals  inoculated  with  bovine  strains  did  not  show  this 
reaction.  There  was  no  uniformity  in  the  reaction  giveh  by  the 
various  lots  of  guinea  pigs  used  in  the  experiments.  All  gave 
typical  agglutination  reactions  with  both  antigens  and  in  most 
cases  cross  agglutinated. 

From  these  three  tests  to  detect  differences  between  strains  of 
the  organism  from  swine  and  cattle  respectively,  it  is  evident  that 
they  are  morphologically  identical  and  culturally  similar,  but 
biologically  unlike.  However,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  different 
strains  are  very  closely  related. 

RELATIONSHIP  OF  ABORTION  IN  SWINE  AND 
CATTLE 

From  a practical  point  of  view  it  would  be  of  great  value  to 
know  whether  sows  may  become  infected  through  drinking  milk 
or  its  by-products  produced  by  cows  known  to  harbor  the  abor- 
tion organism.  Although  of  less  practical  importance,  it  would 
be  advantageous  to  learn  whether  cattle  are  susceptible  to  abor- 
tion infection  of  porcine  origin. 

If  there  was  much  chance  of  infection  being  acquired  by  sows 
in  the  way  mentioned,  there  would  certainly  have  been  more  re- 
ports of  abortion  in  swine  on  dairy  farms  where  hogs  are  also 
kept.  So  far  as  the  writers  have  been  able  to  learn,  outbreaks  of 
infectious  abortion  in  swine  occur  no  oftener  on  dairy  farms 
than  on  farms  where  cattle  are  not  kept  and  dairy  products  are 
not  fed.  This  would  tend  to  disprove  the,  belief  that  swine  and 
cattle  abortion  are  identical  as  to  cause.  Moreover,  nearly  all  of 
the  several  outbreaks  in  swine  investigated  by  the  writers  were 
found  to  have  started  as  the  result  of  introducing  hogs  from  in- 
fected herds,  rather  than  by  feeding  dairy  products  from,  or  con- 
tact with,  cattle  affected  with  contagious  abortion. 

For  the  purpose  of  determining  just  how  pregnant  sows  would 
react  to  intravenous  doses  of  both  porcine  and  bovine  strains  of 
the  abortion  organism,  eleven  supposedly  pregnant  gilts  were 


6 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


purchased.  All  were  bred  to  farrow  after  June  1st  with  the  ex- 
ception of  gilt  13,  which  would  farrow  in  May.  Before  these 
animals  were  put  on  experiment  they  were  bled  from  the  tail 
and  their  blood  serum  was  tested  for  the  specific  antibodies  (ag- 
glutinins) produced  only  as  a result  of  the  presence  of  abortion 
bacilli  in  the  body.  All  of  them  gave  a negative  reaction  with 
this  test  (Table  I).  The  gilts  were  then  divided  into  three  lots, 
each  lot  being  confined  to  a separate  pen  and  yard. 

The  four  strains  of  porcine  abortion  bacilli  used  in  the  follow- 
ing experiments  consisted  of  Wis.  93  and  Wis.  507,  recovered 
from  sows  in  the  university  herd,  and  of  111.  1305  and  111.  1511.* 

By  employing  these  four  different  strains  in  combination  the 
chance  of  the  inoculum  being  of  low  virulence  was  largely  ob- 
viated. 

Pathogenicity  of  Porcine  Abortion  Bacilli  for  Sows 

Gilts  1,  13,  10,  and  6 comprised  the  lot  that  was  infected  by  in- 
troducing live  abortion  bacilli  of  porcine  origin  into  the  circula- 
tory system.  The  dose  was  equal  to  one-half  of  the  growth  occur- 
ring on  a 24-hour  pork-agar  slope,  and  consisted  of  a suspension 
in  10  c.  c.  of  normal  salt  solution  of  the  four  different  strains  of 
the  organism  mentioned  above.  A week  after  inoculation  all  four 
animals  gave  characteristic  reactions  with  the  agglutination  test 
and  continued  to  react  until  disposed  of  about  three  months  later. 
With  the  exception  of  gilt  6 all  aborted ; the  latter  may  have 
aborted  and  eaten  her  fetuses  in  the  night.  The  average  incuba- 
tion period  in  the  three  on  which  records  were  complete  was  24.7 
days.  Gilts  1 and  6 developed  a “reaction  fever”  of  104°  two 
days  after  they  had  been  inoculated. 

Pathogenicity  of  Bovine  Abortion  Bacilli  for  Sows 

Gilts  9,  8,  5,  and  2 comprised  a lot  used  to  determine  whether 
cultures  of  bovine  origin  are  capable  of  producing  abortion  in 
swine.  The  technique  followed  was  the  same  as  for  the  lot  pre- 
viously mentioned,  with  the  exception  that  four  bovine  strains  of 
B.  abortus  (Bang),  originally  secured  from  four  different 
sources,  comprised  the  inoculum.  None  of  these  four  gilts  showed 
a thermal  reaction  following  the  inoculation.  This  is  significant 
in  that  it  is  in  contrast  to  the  temperature  curve  given  by  two  of 

* Furnished  through  the  courtesy  of  Dr.  Herman  Schwarze,  Depart- 
ment of  Animal  Pathology,  University  of  Illinois. 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  7 


TABLE  I— DATA  ON  GILTS  INOCULATED  WITH  PORCINE  AND 
BOVINE  STRAINS  OF  B.  ABORTUS 


No. 

of 

Gilt 

Dates  of  and 
reactions  to 
blood  tests 

; Date 
inocu- 
lated 

Method 
of  inoc 
ulation 

Kind  and 
amount  of 
inoculum 

i Dates  and 
records  of 
temperatures 

Date  of 
partu- 
rition 

Remarks 

1 

4-27—0 

4- 29—0 

5-  3—  .002 
5-10—  .002 

5- 23-0 

6- 11—  .002 
7-18—  .002 

' 4-27 

| 

intra- 

venous 

y2  of  24  hrs. 
agar  growth 
swine 
organisms 

4-27—101.0 
4-28—101.2 
4-29 — 104.0 

4- 30—103.8 

5-  2—102.6 
5-  3—100.0 

5-23 

Copious  discharge 
of  blood  and  hair 
after  farrowing 

13 

3-  2 — 0 
3-  5—0 
3 7—  .002 
'>-17—  .002 
3-23—  .01 

3- 30—  .005 

4- 27—  .002 

5-  2—  .002 
7-13—  ..002 

3-2 

intra- 

venous 

y2  of  24  hrs 
agar  growth 
swine 
organisms 

3-23 

3 immature  dead 
fetuses 

10 

4-27—0 

4- 29—0 

5-  3—  .002 
5-10 — .002 
5-23—  .002 

4-27 

intra- 

venous 

y2  of  24  hrs 
agar  growth 
swine 
organisms 

4-20—100.8 
4-25—101.8 
4-27 — 101 . 5 

4- 29—100.0 
! 5_  2—100.6 

5-  3—100.0 



5-24 

Bloody  discharge 
containing  hair, 
meat  shreds,  etc. 

6 

4-27—0 

4- 20-0 

5-  3—  .002 
5-10 — .002 
5-23—  .002 
0-11—  .002 
7-1? — .002 

4-27 

intra- 

venous 

y2  of  24  hrs. 
agar  slope 
swine 
organisms 

4-27—102. 
4-28—101.4 
1 4-29—104. 

4- 30—102.4 

5-  2—100. 

! 5-  3—100. 

? 

Was  not  seen  to 
farrow,  but  prob- 
ably did 

9 ! 

4- 27-  JQ 

5-  3—0 
5- 18-  0 

5- 23—  .002 
0-  1—  .002 

6- 11—  .002, 

6- 23—  .002 

7- 18-  .002  | 

5-18 

intra- 

venous 

y2  of  24  hrs. 
agar  slope 
bovine 
organisms 

5-18—100.6 

5-19—101. 

5-20-101. 

5-22—100.4 

6-  8 

Six  normal  pigs 

8 

4- 27—0 
5 - 3 — 0 

5—  18 — 0 

5- 23—  .002 

6-  1—  .002 
6-11—  .01 

6- 23—  .002 

7- 18—  .002 

5-18 

intrar 

venous 

y2  of  24  hrs. 
agar  slope 
bovine 
organisms 

5-18—101. 

1 5-19—101.4 
5-20-100.6 
5-22—100.6 

6-  9 

Nine  normal  pigs 

5 

4- 27—0 

5-  3—0 
5-18—0 

5- 23—0 

6-  1—  .002 
6-11—0 

6- 23—  .002 

7- 18—  .002 

5-18 

intra- 

venous 

y2  of  24  hr. 
agar  slope 
bovine 
organisms 

5-18—101.2  1 
5-  9—100.6 
5-20—100.8 
5-21—100.4 

6-10 

Three  normal  pigs 

2 

j 

4- 27—0 

5-  3—0 
5-18 — 0 

5- 23—  .02 

6-  1—  .02 
6-11—  .02 

6- 23 — .005 

7- 18—  .005 

5-18 

intra- 

venous 

y2  of  24  hr. 
agar  slope 
bovine 
organisms 

5-18—101.2 

5-19—100.6 

5-20—102. 

5-21—101. 

7-14 

Seven  normal  pigs 

1-27 — 0 

5- 18—0  i 

6- 23 — 0 

7- 18-0 

Con- 
trol not 
inocu- 
lated i 

6-7  j 

Seven  normal  pigs 

8 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


TABLE  I — Continued 


No  . Dates  of  and 
of  i reactions  to 
Gilt  blood  tests 

Date 

inocu- 

lated 

Method 
of  inoc- 
! ulation 

Kind  and 
amount  of 
inoculum 

Dates  and  Date  of 
1 records  of  partu- 
temperatures  rition 

Remarks 

7 4-27—0 

Con- 

6-17 

No  evidences  of 

a-18 — 0 

trol  not 

abortion  infection 

6-23-4) 

inocu- 

could be  found  in 

7-18—0 

lated 

the  sis  dead  fetu- 

ses 

4 4-27—0 

Con- 

6-12 

.Five  normal  pigs 

5-18 — 0 

trol  not 

1 5-23 — 0 

inocu- 

6-23—0 

lated 

7-18—0 

the  four  gilts  inoculated  with  porcine  strains.  These  four  gilts 
all  farrowed  normally  on  the  21.  22,  23,  and  57th  day  after  having 
been  inoculated.  This  was  an  average  of  30.7  days  which  should 
be  contrasted  with  the  average  of  24.7  days  for  the  lot  described 
in  the  preceding  paragraph.  Their  pigs  were  alive  and  active  at 
birth.  Like  the  gilts  in  the  other  lot,  they  continued  to  react  with 
agglutination  test  fluids,  prepared  from  both  porcine  and  bovine 
strains,  until  the  experiment  was  brought  to  conclusion  about 
three  months  after  it  was  inaugurated. 

Gilts  12,  7,  and  4 were  controls  on  the  two  lots  already  men- 
tioned. They  never  showed  evidence  of  infection  by  the  agglu- 
tination tests.  Two  farrowed  normally,  while  one  farrowed  six 
full-grown  dead  fetuses.  Efforts  to  isolate  abortion  bacilli  from 
the  fetuses  were  not  successful.  This  fact  combined  with  the 
failure  of  the  sow’s  serum  to  react  indicates  that  abortion  infec- 
tion did  not  exist  in  the  dam  and  that  fetal  death  was  due  to  some 
other  cause. 

In  order  to  dispel  the  thought  that  the  bovine  strains  used  in 
this  experiment  may  have  lost  their  pathogenicity  and  virulence, 
reference  should  be  made  to  the  data  on  the  Guernsey  heifer, 
mentioned  below,  which  was  inoculated  with  these  identical 
strains.  It  should  be  stated  in  this  connection  that  Connaway 
reports  having  succeeded  in  producing  abortion  in  pregnant  sows 
by  feeding  laboratory  cultures  from  both  bovine  and  porcine 
sources.  It  would  have  been  better  if  the  gilts  inoculated  with 
the  bovine  strains  had  not  been  so  far  advanced  in  pregnancy. 
In  order  to  overcome  this  objection  it  is  planned  to  repeat  this 
experiment  at  the  first  opportunity. 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  9 


Susceptibility  of  Heifers  to  Porcine  and  Bovine  Strains 

Two  heifers  were  bought  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the 
susceptibility  of  cattle  to  abortion  bacilli  of  both  porcine  and 
bovine  origin.  These  heifers  had  been  bred  shortly  before  they 
were  purchased,  but  the  exact  breeding  dates  could  not  be  ascer- 
tained. Their  blood  serum  was  tested  and  found  to  be  free  from 
all  evidence  of  infection  with  the  bovine  abortion  bacilli,  as  may 
be  seen  from  Table  II,  to  which  reference  should  be  made  for 
results  of  subsequent  serum  tests. 

TABLE  II— DATA  ON  HEIFERS  INOCULATED  WITH  PORCINE 
AND  BOVINE  STRAINS  OF  B.  ABORTUS. 


Name  of 
Heifer 

Date  Method 
inocu-  of  inocu- 
lated lation 

Kind 

of  inocu- 
lum 

Date  of 
abor- 
tion 

Incuba- 

tion 

period 

Agglutination  tests 

(111 

8-27 1 9-3  9-7  !9-9 

1 1 J 

9-11 

9-121  12-16 

1 

1-9 

1 ? 
1 8 

1 E 

d 

o\v 

8-30-21  Intra- 
venous 

4 porcine  10-27 
strains 

58  days^  0 0 .002 1 

1 

! ' .002 

.002 

l 

.0O5‘  .02 

rnsey 

9-7-21  Intra- 
venous 

4 bovine  11-5 
strains 

59  daySj  0 0 0 

6 

1.005'  .002 

.005 

.005  . 005 

1 

1 j: 

The  solid  yellow  heifer  was  given  an  intravenous  injection  con- 
sisting of  a suspension  of  pooled  live  porcine  abortion  bacilli 
representing  the  four  different  strains  already  mentioned.  The 
dose  was  equivalent  to  the  growth  developed  on  one  24-hour 
pork-agar  slope.  The  Guernsey  heifer  was  treated  in  exactly  the 
same  way  with  the  exception  that  four  bovine  strains  of  the  or- 
ganism were  used  to  inoculate  her  instead  of  the  porcine  strains. 

Within  a few  days  after  inoculation  each  heifer  gave  a clear- 
cut  agglutination  reaction,  which  may  be  interpreted  to  mean  that 
she  became  infected,  although  a similar  reaction  would  have  oc- 
curred if  killed  cultures  had  been  employed.  Although  a smaller 
quantity  of  blood-serum  of  the  heifer  inoculated  with  the  porcine 
strains  caused  complete  agglutination  than  was  the  case  with  her 
fellow,  the  agglutinins  did  not  persist  in  this  animal  so  long. 

These  heifers  aborted  58  and  59  days,  respectively,  after  hav- 
ing been  inoculated,  so  the  incubation  period  of  the  disease  was 
practically  the  same  in  each  animal.  In  other  words,  one  heifer 
was  as  susceptible  to  the  abortion  organisms  recovered  from 


10 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


swine  as  the  other  was  to  the  organisms  recovered  from  cattle. 
Figure  2 is  a reproduction  of  a photograph  of  the  fetus  aborted 
by  the  heifer  that  received  the  porcine  abortion  bacilli. 

Attempts  were  made  to  isolate  B.  abortus  from  the  fetuses  of 
both  heifers  by  inoculating  guinea  pigs  with  stomach  contents. 
The  two  guinea  pigs  injected  with  material  from  the  solid  yellow 
heifer’s  fetus  never  reacted  with  the  agglutination  test  and 
showed  no  lesions  of  infection  with  abortion  bacilli  when  killed. 
The  two  guinea  pigs,  that  were  injected  with  stomach  contents  of 
the  fetus  aborted  by  the  heifer  which  had  been  infected  with 
bovine  strains,  both  reacted  several  times  to  serum  tests  for  spe- 
cific abortion  bacilli  antibodies.  When  these  pigs  were  autopsied 
no  visible  lesions  were  noted  and  suitable  culture  media  seeded 
with  spleen  pulp  remained  sterile. 

WAYS  BY  WHICH  ABORTION  IS  CONTRACTED  AND 
TRANSMITTED 

Bovine  abortion  has  been  produced  experimentally  in  cows  by 
introducing  the  bacterium  abortus  into  the  mouth,  into  the  vagina, 


Fig.  2.— ABORTED  FETUS  OF  EXPERIMENTALLY  INFECTED  COW 

The  cow  aborted  58  days  after  she  had  been  injected  intravenously 
with  a suspension  of  abortion  bacilli  of  porcine  origin. 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  11 


and  into  the  udder.  Therefore,  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that 
under  natural  conditions  cattle  may  become  infected  in  these  dif- 
ferent ways.  The  actual  isolation  of  the  infectious  organism  from 
aborted  fetuses,  infected  placentas,  and  from  the  first  milk  (colos- 
trum) of  sows,  ’support  the  belief  of  experienced  breeders  of 
swine  that  sows  acquire  and  transmit  the  infection  in  the  same 
ways  that  cows  do.  ‘The  following  experiment  was  carried  out 
to  learn  whether  contaminated  feed  may  be  a source  of  infection 
for  swine. 

Effects  of  Feeding  Abortion  Bacilli  to  Gilts 

A pen  of  four  open  gilts,  designated  in  Table  III  as  series  1A, 
were  selected  for  this  experiment.  They  were  fed  cultures  of  the 
aforementioned  strains  of  abortion  bacilli  of  porcine  origin  be- 
fore being  bred.  Previous  to  being  so  fed  these  gilts  were  tested 
and  found  free  from  any  trace  of  infection.  Reference  should 
be  made  to  the  table  for  their  subsequent  serum  reactions.  All 
become  reactors  within  two  weeks  after  eating  the  abortion  bacilli, 
but  gilt  8 failed  to  react  six  wreeks  later  and  continued  to  be  a 
negative  reactor  thereafter.  A week  to  a month  after  eating  this 
infectious  material  all  had  come  in  heat  and  had  settled  to  one 
service  by  negative  reacting  boars. 

Gilt  5 farrowed  four  living  pigs  105  days  after  conception ; 
gilt  6 five  living  pigs  113  days  after  conception;  gilt  8 eight  living 
pigs  115  days  after  conception;  gilt  7 aborted  five  dead  fetuses 
79  days  after  being  bred.  Assuming  that  the  cultures  used  in  this 
experiment  were  virulent,  as  seems  probable  from  results  that 
followed  their  use  in  other  experiments  to  be  described,  it  is  rea- 
sonable to  conclude  that  these  four  sows  became  infected  with  the 
abortion  bacilli  taken  into  their  digestive  canals  with  food  and 
drink.  Since  only  one  of  these  four  actually  aborted,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  normally  gilts  exhibit  considerable  resistance  to,  or  have 
an  appreciable  amount  of  immunity  against,  porcine  abortion 
bacilli  when  introduced  per  orem  before  conception  has  occurred. 


12 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


Effects  of  Injecting  the  Bacilli  Into  the  Blood 

Although  infection  seldom  occurs  under  natural  conditions  di- 
rectly by  way  of  the  blood  stream,  it  seemed  desirable  to  attempt 
to  produce  it  in  this  way,  so  that  a check  might  be  had  on  the  vir- 
ulency  of  the  cultures  used  in  the  feeding  experiment  just  de- 
scribed, and  to  study  any  reactions  which  might  develop  in  the 
experimentally  infected  swine. 

The  animals  used  are  designated  in  Table  III  as  series  IB. 
They  were  the  four  virgin  gilts  numbered  1,  2,  3,  and  4 respec- 
tively. The  data  show  that  all  gave  negative  agglutination  re- 
actions before  being  inoculated  and  positive  reactions  eight  days 
afterwards.  They  all  continued  to  react  for  at  least  18  weeks, 
with  the  exception  of  gilt  4,  which  ceased  to  react  after  the  15th 
week. 

This  pen  of  gilts  was  inoculated  intravenously  before  they  were 
bred  with  a suspension  of  pooled  cultures  of  porcine  strains  pre- 
pared in  the  manner  already  described.  They  were  mated  with 
negative  reacting  boars  at  the  first  heat  period  that  subsequently 
occurred.  It  should  be  noted  that  gilt  1 was  bred  on  November 
25th  and  again  on  January  10th,  after  which  date  she  appeared 
to  have  settled ; but  on  April  7th  she  was  noticed  to  be  in  heat 
again.  There  is  a decided  probability  that  she  aborted  early  in 
pregnancy,  although  she  was  not  observed  to  have  done  so.  This 
belief  is  based  on  the  fact  that  she  was  a persistent  reactor  with 
the  serum  tests. 

Gilt  2 aborted  on  the  69th  day  of  pregnancy  and  gilt  3 on  the 
83rd  day,  showing  that  the  inoculum  was  virulent  and  that  these 
gilts  were  susceptible  to  infection  with  porcine  strains  of  abor- 
tion bacilli  introduced  intravenously. 

Gilt  4 farrowed  seven  lively  pigs  116  days  after  conception 
occurred.  This  gilt  may  just  as  logically  be  said  to  demonstrate 
that  the  strains  of  porcine  abortion  bacilli  used  to  infect  her  were 
avirulent  or  that  she  had  a high  resistance  to  the  infection,  or 
both.  It  is  admittedly  impossible  to  determine  which  of  these 
two  diametrically  opposed  statements  is  correct.  The  preponder- 
ance of  evidence  is  in  favor  of  the  former,  as  one  gilt  either 
failed  to  conceive  or  aborted,  two  aborted,  and  only  one  carried 
her  fetuses  to  maturity. 


TABLE  III— COMPLETE  RECORDS  ON  SWINE  INOCULATED  BY  VARIOUS  METHODS. 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  13 


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TABLE  III  (Continued).— COMPLETE  RECORDS  ON  SWINE  INOCULATED  BY  VARIOUS  METHODS. 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


Agglutination  tests 

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TABLE  III  (Continued).— COMPLETE  RECORDS  ON  SWINE  INOCULATED  BY  VARIOUS  METHODS. 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  15 


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TABLE  III  (Continued).— COMPLETE  RECORDS  ON  SWINE  INOCULATED  BY  VARIOUS  METHODS. 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


Agglutination  tests 

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TABLE  III  (Continued).— COMPLETE  RECORDS  ON  SWINE  INOCULATED  BY  VARIOUS  METHODS’. 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  17 


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Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


If  we  omit  gilt  1,  which  may  or  may  not  have  aborted,  then 
abortions  were  produced  in  two  of  three  gilts  inoculated.  Since 
other  investigators  have  reported  poorer  success,  these  results 
from  the  use  of  these  strains  of  porcine  abortion  bacilli  indicate 
they  were  of  relatively  high  virulence. 

Transmission  by  Boar  Infected  in  the  Sheath 

It  was  believed  that  some  practical  information  could  be  se- 
cured regarding  the  mode  of  transmission  by  infecting  a boar  by 
means  of  an  intrapreputial  injection  of  fresh  cultures  of  the  bac- 
terium abortus  and  then  mating  the  boar  with  clean  sows. 

The  experimental  animals  used  in  this  experiment  are  desig- 
nated in  Table  III  as  Series  1C.  They  consisted  of  boar  23,  open 
gilt  12,  and  open  sows  39  and  35.  These  hogs  were  all  negative 
reactors  to  the  agglutination  test  at  the  time  they  were  put  on  ex- 
periment, so  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  they  were  free  from 
infection  then.  The  females  were  kept  together  in  one  pen  and 
the  boar  in  a pen  by  himself. 

Boar  23  was  given  an  intrapreputial  injection  consisting  of 
10  c.  c.  of  a suspension  of  pooled  strains  of  porcine  abortion 
bacilli  in  physiologic  salt  solution.  Immediately  afterward  he 
was  bred  to  gilt  12;  several  days  later  to  sow  39;  eighteen  days 
later  to  sow  35.  All  of'  these  conceived  to  the  first  service.  A 
test  of  his  blood  serum  on  the  eighth  day  after  injection  was  nega- 
tive with  both  porcine  and  bovine  agglutination  test  fluids.  On 
the  seventeenth  day  0.02  c.  c.  of  his  blood  serum  completely  ag- 
glutinated 1 c.  c.  of  the  bovine  test  fluid,  while  0.01  c.  c.  of  his 
serum  was  sufficient  for  a similar  reaction  with  porcine  test  fluid. 
Forty-nine  days  subsequent  to  the  injection,  0.01  c.  c.  of  the 
serum  agglutinated  the  bovine  organisms.  He  was  not  tested 
again  until  the  90th  day,  when  he  was  found  to  be  negative  to 
both  antigens  and  remained  so  thereafter.  These  tests  show  (1) 
that  he  probably  became  actively  infected  for  a short  time  as  a 
result  of  the  injection  into  the  sheath;  (2)  that  he  was  able  to 
overcome  the  infection  in  about  two  months. 

Gilt  12  reacted  when  tested  on  the  49th  day  after  copulation 
with  boar  23  and  again  on  the  90th  day,  but  at  no  time  afterward. 
It  is  believed  that  she  would  have  reacted  at  any  time  between 
these  dates  is  she  had  been  tested.  She  farrowed  eleven  normal 
pigs  115  days  after  being  bred,  so  it  would  seem  that  although 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  19 


she  became  infected  through  this  exposure  she  had  resistance 
enough  to  overcome  the  infection. 

Sow  39  did  not  react  with  the  blood  tests  ten  days  after  being 
bred,  but  did  42  days  after  and  undoubtedly  would  have  earlier  if 
she  had  been  tested.  She  aborted  four  dead  fetuses  after  carry- 
ing them  only  82  days.  This  tends  to  the  belief  that  the  organ- 
isms used  to  infect  the  boar  were  virulent  and  that  abortion  of 
swine  may  be  transmitted  by  copulation  at  least  seven  days  after 
the  boar’s  external  genital  organs  have  been  soiled  with  material 
containing  living  porcine  abortion  bacilli. 

Sow  35,  although  tested  frequently,  never  showed  evidence  of 
abortion  infection.  She  farrowed  seven  live  pigs  115  days  after 
being  bred.  This  may  be  explained  on  the  grounds  that  she  was 
not  mated  with  the  boar  until  18  days  after  he  had  been  injected, 
during  which  time  there  was  ample  opportunity  for  all  the  abor- 
tion bacilli  introduced  into  his  prepuce  to  have  died  from  want  of 
a favorable  habitat,  or  to  have  been  destroyed  by  the  secretions 
and  protective  substances  produced  by  the  boar. 

In  this  experiment  infection  appears  to  have  been  transmitted 
by  copulation  in  two  out  of'  three  trials,  and  one  of  the  infected 
sows  aborted.  This  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  the  boar  is  sus- 
ceptible to  abortion  infection,  besides  being  capable  of  trans- 
mitting the  infection  by  service.  As  only  one  of  the  three  sows 
actually  aborted,  it  would  appear  that  the  disease  is  not  sp*read 
by  copulation  so  frequently  as  by  ingestion  of  contaminated  feed 
or  drink.  In  our  boar  the  bacilli  did  not  survive  very  long  in  the 
sheath.  This  is  in  accord  with  our  observations  on  the  bull  as  a 
disseminator  of  contagious  abortion. 

THE  PERIOD  OF  INCUBATION 

After  an  animal  becomes  infected,  a certain  time  must  elapse 
before  the  development  of  symptoms.  This  is  known  as  the  in- 
cubation period.  From  the  viewpoint  of  the  man  engaged  in 
the  breeding  of  swine,  it  is  desirable  to  know  just  how  long  after 
a pregnant  sow  becomes  infected  with  porcine  abortion  germs  it 
will  be  before  she  aborts.  The  investigator  needs  this  informa- 
tion to  check  experimental  work. 


20 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


An  Experiment  to  Determine  This  Period 

Gilts  20  and  11,  of  Series  1H,  in  Table  III,  and  gilts  1,  13,  10 
in  Table  I are  available  for  data.  The  two  former  were  bred  to 
clean  boars  on  the  dates  given  in  the  table.  Seventy  days  after 
the  last  service  gilt  20  was  infected  by  an  intravenous  dose  of 
porcine  abortion  bacilli ; she  aborted  23  days  later.  Gilt  1 1 was 
inoculated  60  days  after  being  bred  and  aborted  19  days  later. 

The  incubation  periods  in  the  gilts  used  for  the  experiments 
recorded  in  Table  I were  26,  21,  and  27  days;  in  the  two  men- 
tioned above  23  and  19  days.  This  gives  an  average  incubation 
period  for  pregnant  sows  infected  with  porcine  strains  adminis- 
tered intravenously  of  exactly  23.2  days.  There  is  a difference 
between  the  longest  and  shortest  period  of  eight  days,  which 
may  be  attributed  to  the  difference  in  the  resistance  of  the  indi- 
viduals. 

Besides  showing  how  long  after  having  been  infected  in  the 
way  mentioned  a sow  will  likely  abort,  these  data  pfrove  that  the 
various  strains  of  porcine  abortion  bacilli  used  in  all  this  experi- 
mental work  were  virulent,  for  in  every  sow  except  one  abortion 
occurred  promptly,  and  it  is  probable  that  this  sow  also  aborted, 
although  no  fetuses  were  found. 

Ratio  of  Incubation  Period  to  Gestation  Period 

A most  interesting  point  is  brought  out  by  making  a com- 
parison between  the  length  of  the  incubation  period  and  the 
length  of  the  gestation  period  in  the  experimentally  infected 
sows,  inoculated  intravenously  with  porcine  strains  of  the  B. 
abortus.  These  periods  in  the  cow  inoculated  in  the  same  man- 
ner with  identical  inoculum  also  offer  an  interesting  comparison. 
The  incubation  period  in  the  sows  averaged  23.2  days ; while  the 
corresponding  period  for  the  cow  was  58  days.  The  accepted 
average  period  of  gestation  for  the  sow  is  113  days,  and  for  the 
cow  282  days.  The  figure  23.2  is  20.5  per  cent  of  the  gestation 
period  of  the  sow.  With  this  percentage  as  a basis  the  theoretical 
incubation  period  of  the  cow  would  be  57.8  days,  actually  it  was 
found  to  be  58  days  in  our  cow.  The  incubation  period  for  the 
sows  is  used  as  a working  basis  because  it  represents  the  aver- 
age for  several  sows.  It  would  seem  from  these  meager  figures 
that  both  cattle  and  swine  show  the  same  relative  susceptibility 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  21 


for  the  particular  cultures  of  porcine  abortion  bacilli  used  in 
these  experiments,  if  the  gestation  period  in  each  species  of  ani- 
mal is  taken  as^a  basis  for  computation. 

TABLE  IV.— LENGTH  OF  PREGNANCY  IN  NATURALLY 
INFECTED  ABORTING  SOWS 


Sow’s  Number 

Date  Bred 

1 

Date  Aborted 

Days  Pregnant 

160 

11-17-20 

2-  8-21 

83 

141 

1-  9-21 

2-  2-21 

24 

666 

1-  1-21 

2-28-21 

58 

794 

11-20-20 

2-18-21 

90 

555 

12-13-20 

2-25-21 

74 

655954 

11-17-20 

1-15-21 

59 

574 

11-17-20 

1-18-21 

62 

324 

12-  1-21 

2-22-22 

83 

21 

11-21-20 

1-13-21 

53 

Totals  9 

586 

Average 

1 65.1 

Period  of  Pregnancy  When  Abortion  Occurs 

From  the  above  it  is  clear  that  a sow  purposely  infected  with 
abortion  will  likely  abort  23.2  days  after  inoculation.  In  an  in- 
fected herd,  where  the  organisms  may  be  picked  up  at  almost  any 
time  and  where  some  sows  have  developed  a certain  amount  of 
resistance,  the  period  at  which  abortion  occurs  would  vary.  Cer- 
tain sows  abort  very  soon  after  being  bred  and  the  fetuses  are  sc 
small  that  they  may  escape  notice.  Other  sows  in  a similar  en- 
vironment may  carry  their  young  so  long  as  90  days,  but  in  no 
case  that  has  come  under  our  observation  later  than  this.  The 
average  for  the  nine  sows  included  in  Table  IV  was  65.1  days. 
Hays  and  Phipps8  report  an  average  of  77.2  days  for  eight  sows, 
but  these  men  appear  to  have  been  dealing  with  a type  of  infec- 
tion much  less  virulent  than  the  one  with  which  we  were  dealing. 

METHODS  OF  DIAGNOSING  INFECTIOUS  ABORTION 

Several  means  of  recognizing  abortion  infection  in  swine  have 
been  tried.  They  consist  of  (1)  the  intradermic  test,  (2)  bacte- 
riologic  tests,  (3)  serologic  tests.  Each  of  these  will  now  be  dis- 
cussed and  the  results  secured  contrasted  to  find  which  is  the 
most  reliable  means  of  diagnosis. 


22 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


The  Intradermic  Test 

The  favorable  diagnostic  results  reported  by  Stafseth10  fol- 
lowing the  intradermal  injection  of  guinea  pigs  with  a suspension 
of  dead  bacterium  abortus,  suggested  the  possibility  that  this 
might  be  a suitable  means  of  diagnosing  infectious  abortion  in 
swine.  With  this  in  view  the  following  experiments  were  con- 
ducted : 

Seven  series  of  guinea  pigs  with  four  pigs  in  each  series  were 
employed  for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  intradermic  test  in 
these  laboratory  animals.  Two  series  were  injected  with  live 
abortion  bacilli  of  swine  origin  and  two  with  those  of  porcine 
origin ; four  series  with  dead  bacilli  of  corresponding  strains ; 
one  series  was  left  untreated  as  controls.  About  three  weeks 
afterward  the  intradermic  test  was  applied.  This  consisted  of  in- 
jecting 0.1  c.  c.  of  a bacillary  suspension  of  dead  abortion 
bacilli  in  physiologic  salt  solution  into  the  skin.  The  results  of 
this  test  did  not  correspond  so  closely  with  the  clinical  history 
as  did  the  agglutination  test.  Those  guinea  pigs  that  were  given 
the  dead  bovine  bacilli  did  not  respond  to  intradermic  test  fluid 
prepared  from  the  same  strains;  but  those  that  were  given  the 
dead  porcine  bacilli  and  then  tested  in  a similar  manner  did  react. 
There  was  no  difference  in  the  percentage  of  positive  and  nega- 
tive reactions  given  by  the  guinea  pigs  inoculated  with  the  re- 
spective live  bacilli,  the  intradermic  results  being  87.5  per  cent 
accurate. 

All  of  the  swine  shown  in  Table  III  were  tested  by  the  intra- 
dermic method  with  both  types  of  test  fluid,  but  a record  of  the 
reactions  is  not  given  in  the  table,  as  space  is  lacking.  In  sev- 
eral of  the  hogs  that  were  known  to  be  actively  infected  there 
was  no  sign  of  a reaction,  while  in  others  it  was  so  slight  that  it 
could  not  be  accurately  detected.  In  only  three  cases  was  the 
reaction  sufficiently  well  marked  to  justify  calling  it  a typical 
positive  reaction.  It  is  significant,  however,  that  none  of  the  hogs 
in  series  3C  which  had  received  the  killed  cultures  and  none  in 
the  control  series  reacted  even  slightly  to  this  test. 

After  carefully  considering  these  experimental  data  we  have 
concluded  that  the  intradermic  test  at  its  present  stage  of  devel- 
opment is  of  no  practical  value  as  a means  of  diagnosing  infec- 
tious abortion  in  swine. 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  23 
Bacteriologic  Tests 

This  method  of  diagnosis  consists  in  the  isolation  of  the  abor- 
tion organism  directly  from  infective  material,  or  isolation  in- 
directly by  inoculation  of  guinea  pigs  with  this  material.  On 
account  of  gross  contamination  of  material  from  the  field  the 
direct  method  can  be  employed  less  frequently.  Stomach  con- 
tents of  a fetal  pig  are  tisually  selected  as  most  suitable  for  both 
the  direct  and  indirect  methods.  From  the  lesions  produced  in 
inoculated  guinea  pigs  the  organisms  may  be  recovered  by  the 
direct  method.  Before  killing  inoculated  guinea  pigs  and  when  no 
lesions  are  found  recourse  may  be  had  to  testing  their  blood  to  be 
certain  about  the  abortion  bacilli  content  of  the  inoculum. 


Fig.  3.— SECTIONED  TESTICLE  OF  BOAR  AFFECTED  AVITH  ORCHITIS 

The  gland  substance  appeared  impregnated  with  a cheese-like  pus. 
Studies  of  stained  sections  and  inoculated  guinea  pigs  failed  to  re- 
veal infection  with  either  the  abortion  bacilli  or  tubercle  bacilli.  The 
lesions  were  granulomalous  and  very  old,  which  may  account  for  failure 
of  the  guinea  pig  inoculations. 

In  the  case  of  the  boar’s  testicle  shown  in  Fig.  3,  some  of  the 
pus  from  the  gland  was  used  to  inoculate  guinea  pigs.  The  his- 
tory of  this  boar  was  that  he  became  impotent,  then  developed  a 
severe  inflammation  of  the  testicles  (orchitis)  which  would  not 
respond  to  treatment.  This  convinced  the  veterinarian  in  charge 
of  the  case,  Dr.  H.  B.  Piper,  Sharon,  Wisconsin,  that  it  would 
be  best  to  castrate  the  animal.  Both  the  clinical  history  and  the 
lesions  pointed  strongly  either  to  abortion  infection  or  to  tuber- 
culosis. However,  the  inoculated  guinea  pigs  never  reacted  to 
subsequent  blood  tests  and  when  destroyed  failed  to  show  lesions 


24 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


of  any  kind.  Suitable  culture  medium  seeded  with  their  spleen 
tissue  remained  sterile.  We  were,  therefore,  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion that  this  boar’s  testicle  was  not  infected  either  with  abor- 
tion or  tubercle  bacilli. 

Hayes8  states  that  in  attempts  to  isolate  Bacterium  abortus 
(Bang)  from  the  testicular  tissues  of  17  boars  artificially  in- 
jected and  one  boar  naturally  infected  with  Bacterium  abortus 
(Bang)  all  were  unsuccessful.  Negative  results  were  also  se- 
cured in  locating  the  organism  in  the  kidneys,  spleen,  liver, 
thyroid  and  urethra  in  two  positive  barrows.  In  one  sow  artifi- 
cially infected  by  intravenous  injection,  Bacterium  abortus  (Bang) 
was  isolated  from  her  udder  6 months  after  contact  with  organ- 
isms and  3 months  after  farrowing  normally. 


Fi g.  4.— LESIONS  OF  ABORTION  IN  A GUINEA  PIG’S  LIVER 

The  guinea  pig  was  inoculated  with  material  from  the  greatly  en- 
larged testicle  of  a boar.  Pure  cultures  of  abortion  bacilli  were  recov- 
ered from  the  lesions.  (Courtesy  Minn.  Agric.  Exp.  Sta.) 

A very  good  idea  may  be  had  from  Fig.  4 of  the  nature  of  the 
lesions  that  developed  in  the  liver  of  a guinea  pig  inoculated  with 
material  from  a boar’s  testicle.  This  photograph  is  reproduced 
by  courtesy  of  Dr.  C.  P.  Fitch,  chief  of  the  Division  of  Veter- 
inary Medicine,  University  of  Minnesota.  He  succeeded  in  iso- 
lating abortion  bacilli  from  the  lesions  in  this  liver.  Therefore, 
it  is  believed  that  the  boar  may  in  rare  instances  under  natural 
conditions  become  infected  wilh,  and  become  a carrier  of,  the 
abortion  disease. 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  25 


Serologic  or  Blood  Tests 

There  are  two  blood  tests  employed  for  the  diagnosis  of  abor- 
tion infection,  viz.,  the  agglutination  test  and  the  complement 
fixation  test.  These  tests  demonstrate  the  presence  or  absence  of 
certain  specific  chemical  substances,  known  as  antibodies,  that 
are  produced  only  as  a result  of  the  introduction  of  either  dead 
or  living  abortion  germs  in  the  body  of  an  animal.  The  presence 
of  these  antibodies  does  not  mean  that  abortion  bacilli  are  ac- 
tively at  work,  nor  that  the  germs  are  actually  present  in  the 
blood.  Moreover,  they  do  not  at  once  disappear  following  the 
disappearance  of  the  bacilli  from  the  animal’s  body. 

In  the  work  herein  reported  the  agglutination  test  has  been 
used  exclusively,  because  it  is  easier  to  apply  and  in  our  experi- 
ence is  just  as  accurate  a means  of  diagnosis.  In  Tables  I,  II  and 
III  the  figures  used  to  represent  the  reaction  indicate  the  exact 
quantity  of  undiluted  serum  that  was  required  completely  to  ag- 
glutinate 1 c.  c.  of  the  agglutination  test  fluid.  When  such  a re- 
action occurs  with  .01  or  leas  of  the  serum,  the  test  is  interpreted 
as  positive,  which  means  that  the  animal  from  which  the  blood 
was  drawn  is  a reactor.  In  other  words,  the  animal  may  be  ac- 
tively infected,  or  just  becoming  infected,  or  recovering  from  the 
infection.  A reaction,  however,  does  not  mean  that  the  animal 
has  recently,  or  will  soon,  abort,  for  abortion  has  been  found  to 
be  only  incidental  to  infection. 

An  answer  to  the  question  as  to  how  soon  after  infection  oc- 
curs do  the  agglutinins  app/ear  may  be  secured  from  a study  of  the 
reactions  given  with  the  serum  tests  by  the  hogs  used  in  the  ex- 
periments recorded  in  Tables  I ard  III.  The  sera  of  gilts  1,  13, 
10,  and  6,  which  were  infected  by  intravenous  inoculation  of  por- 
cine strains,  agglutinated  test  fluids  prepared  from  both  porcine 
and  bovine  strains  in  0.002  c.  c.  doses  on  the  6th,  5th,  6th  and 
6th  day,  respectively,  thereafter.  The  sera  of  gilts  9,  8,  5,  which 
received  the  bovine  strains,  reacted  in  the  same  way  on  the  5th, 
5th,  and  13th  day  in  the  order  mentioned ; gilt  2 reacted  in  the 
0.005  dose  on  the  36th  day. 

The  sera  of  the  four  gilts  in  Table  III,  series  1A,  fed  cultures 
of  B.  abortus,  agglutinated  both  bovine  and  swine  antigens  in  0.01 
c.  c.  or  less  seventeen  days  after  feeding.  The  sera  of  those  in 
series  IB,  given  intravenous  inoculations  of  live  abortion  bacilli, 
completely  agglutinated  both  bovine  and  swine  antigens  after 


26 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


nine  days;  while  those  in  series  3B,  given  subcutaneous  injec- 
tions of  the  killed  organisms,  gave  typical  reactions  eight  days 
after.  Presumably  the  hogs  in  these  two  series  would  have 
shown  a reaction  earlier  if  they  had  been  tested  more  often. 

All  investigators  agree  that  both  naturally  and  experimentally 
infected  swine  give  variable  reactions  with  the  serum  tests,  more 
particularly  when  the  antibodies  are  on  the  ebb.  As  appears  to  be 
the  case  in  cattle,  the  specific  antibodies  in  swine  gradually  de- 
crease and  eventually  disappear,  unless  the  animal  becomes  re- 
infected. For  this  reason  serologic  tests  cannot  be  relied  upon 
as  a means  of  detecting  the  stage  of  infection  in  sows  which 
have  become  infected  in  a natural  manner.  These  tests  do  tell  us, 
however,  that  an  animal  may  become  infected  early  in  pregnancy 
or  even  before  conception  occurs  and  yet  may  give  birth  to  nor- 
mal, full-term  fetuses.  For  confirmation  of  this  see  data  on  gilts 
6,  8,  4,  and  10  in  Table  III. 

Only  a few  suckling  pigs  have  been  tested,  the  blood  being- 
drawn  directly  from  the  heart,  as  has  been  our  practice  for  some 
time  when  samples  of  blood  from*  guinea  pigs  and  rabbits  were 
needed.  The  results  secured  correspond  with  those  reported  by 
Connaway  and  his  assistants  in  that  but  a small  percentage  of 
pigs  nursed  by  reacting  sows  react  with  the  agglutination  test. 
Even  in  these,  the  antibodies  tend  to  disappear  quite  rapidly. 
This  also  is  in  accord  with  the  results  we  have  secured  in  testing 
calves  from  reacting  cows.  Reacting  calves  eventually  become 
non-reactors  after  a few  weeks  and  usually  remain  so,  at  least 
until  they  reach  sexual  maturity.  This  has  justified  investigators 
in  the  belief  that  the  abortion  organisms  do  not  produce  disease 
in  the  calf.  It  remains  to  be  proved  that  this  is  true  with  pigs, 
but  the  evidence  here  presented  is  confirmatory. 

Owners  of  swine  who  wish  to  learn  whether  abortion  infection 
exists  in  their  herds  can  have  blood  tests  made  by  the  Department 
of  Veterinary  Science  at  the  College  of  Agriculture,  Madison, 
upon  request.  If  many  animals  are  to  be  tested,  sterilized  test 
tubes  in  which  to  draw  the  blood  specimens  for  shipment  should 
be  secured  from  the  above-mentioned  department.  To  avoid  de- 
lay in  the  mails,  a special  delivery  stamp  should  be  attached  to 
the  package,  if  it  is  forwarded  by  post. 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  2 7 
THE  PRODUCTION  OF  IMMUNITY 

There  are  several  ways  known  to  science  by  which  artificial 
immunity  against  an  infectious  disease  may  be  stimulated.  A 
discussion  of  the  technique  of  the  various  methods  will  not  be  at- 
tempted. Suffice  it  to  say  that  our  preliminary  investigation  was 
confined  to  experiments  designed  to  show  the  effects  on  sows  of 
killed  and  living  cultures  of  porcine  strains  of  the  bacillus  abor- 
tus. Later  other  ways  of  conferring  protection  will  be  studied. 

Immunization  With  Killed  Bacilli  (Abortion  Bacterin) 

During  the  past  few  years  a large  number  of  cattle  have  been 
injected  under  our  direction  with  abortion  bacterin  to  learn  how 
effective  this  procedure  would  be  for  stimulating  immunity.  The 
results  secured  showed  that  killed  abortion  bacilli  (abortion  bac- 
terin) are  practically  valueless  for  this  purpose.10  Cows  and 
heifers  treated  with  abortion  bacterin  had  an  abortion  rate  ap- 
proximately the  same  as  did  animals  left  untreated  as  controls. 
There  was  no  harm  apparent  from  the  use  of  this  product,  but 
in  the  bovine  species  it  did  not  prevent  the  occurrence  of  abortion 
with  any  degree  of  regularity  or  to  any  extent. 

In  order  to  learn  whether  swine  would  develop  any  immunity 
from  killed  cultures  of  porcine  abortion  bacilli,  a pen  of  four  open 
gilts,  designated  series  3B,  was  put  on  experiment.  On  October 
11th  these  four  gilts  were  “bacterinated,”  that  is,  given  sub- 
cutaneous injections  of  killed  abortion  bacilli  consisting  of  the 
four  porcine  strains  that  were  employed  in  the  experiments  al- 
ready described.  They  were  bred  subsequently  on  the  dates  given 
in  Table  III  to  clean,  non-reacting  boars.  To  test  the  effective- 
ness of  any  immunity  which  they  may  have  developed  from  the 
bacterin,  each  was  fed  parts  of  two  pig  fetuses  aborted  by  a sow 
in  the  University  herd  on  January  27,  1922.  These  gilts  were 
tested  from  time  to  time  throughout  the  experiment  to  determine 
the  relationship  between  agglutinin  formation,  infection  and  im- 
munity. 

Gilt  13  farrowed  six  thrifty  pigs  117  days  after  conception 
occurred.  Although  she  had  been  a reactor,  she  was  not  at  the 
time  she  was  fed  the  infective  material  nor  at  any  time  there- 
after. There  may  be  a question  as  to  the  effects  of  the  bacterin 
treatment  in  this  case,  but  since  her  blood  serum  showed  a paucity 
of  antibodies  at  the  time  of  conception  and  none  subsequently,  it 


28 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


would  seem  unreasonable  to  attribute  the  resistance  which  she 
must  have  possessed  to  the  bacterin.  Since  there  was  no  evidence 
of  antibody  production  following  the  feeding  of  the  aborted 
fetuses,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  any  organisms  ingested 
were  destroyed  in  the  digestive  canal,  as  appears  to  have  been  the 
case  with  gilts  6 and  8 in  scries  1A. 

Gilt  14  is  believed  to  have  been  catch  bred,  as  no  record  of 
service  was  secured,  yet  she  farrowed  a litter  of  seven  fine  pigs 
on  March  31st.  What  has  been  said  about  her  pen  mate,  gilt  13, 
applies  in  every  particular  to  her  case. 

Gilt  15  aborted  on  the  76th  day  of  pregnancy,  only  ten  days 
after  being  fed  the  infective  material.  This  is  too  short  a time 
for  any  abortion  bacilli  gaining  entrance  to  her  body  by  way  of 
the  mouth  to  have  produced  abortion.  The  organisms  previously 
injected  were  killed,  so  could  not  have  been  responsible.  Accord- 
ingly, we  are  at  a loss  to  offer  a reasonable  explanation  for  this 
gilt  aborting. 

Gilt  16  aborted  26  days  after  she  ate  of  the  supposedly  infec- 
tive pig  fetuses.  The  fact  that  she  failed  to  react  with  the  serum 
test  is  not  easily  explained,  so  will  be  left  to  speculation. 

This  lot  of  experimental  gilts  did  not  furnish  enough  informa- 
tion to  justify  any  conclusion  whatsoever  as  to  the  value  or  lack 
of  value  of  abortion  bacterin  as  a means  of  controlling  the  dis- 
ease in  swine ; in  fact,  the  results  were  contradictory.  It  is 
planned  to  repeat  the  experiment  with  a larger  number  of  animals 
at  the  first  opportunity,  because  commercial  firms  are  already 
advertising  this  product  as  a means  of  controlling  abortion  in 
sows,  even  though  they  have  no  reliable  data  to  substantiate  the 
claim. 

Immunization  With  Living  Bacilli  (Abortion  Vaccine) 

There  are  a number  of  contagious  diseases  of  animals  that  have 
been  vaccinated  against  very  effectively  by  introducing  into  the 
body  the  living  germs  of  the  disease.  The  result  of  this  procedure 
is  a setting  up  of  a mild  attack  of  the  infection  and  the  establish- 
ment of  an  immunity  that  is  sufficient  to  protect  the  animal  for  a 
certain  time. 

With  this  fact  in  mind,  as  well  as  the  favorable  results  secured 
by  us  in  vaccinating  cattle  against  abortion,10  we  felt  it  would  be 
worth  while  to  experiment  with  a similar  vaccine,  prepared,  how- 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  29 

ever,  from  porcine  strains  of  B.  abortus,  as  a means  of  protect- 
ing sows. 

Four  open  gilts,  recorded  as  series  3C,  and  numbered  10,  17,  18, 
and  19  were  chosen  for  this  work.  They  were  injected  sub- 
cutaneously with  the  equivalent  of  the  growth  produced  on  one 
pork-agar  slope,  but  consisting  of  a mixture  of  the  four  porcine 
strains  used  throughout  these  experiments.  The  gilts  were  bred 
as  soon  thereafter  as  they  came  in  heat.  All  conceived  to  the 
first  service  with  the  exception  of  gilt  18.  This  gilt  was  served 
once  in  October,  once  in  November,  and  once  in  December,  but 
never  conceived.  The  others  farrowed  normally. 

No  attempt  was  made  to  produce  abortion  in  these  gilts  subse- 
quently to  their  becoming  pregnant,  as  we  wished  to  learn  if  the 
vaccine  itself  when  administered  at  least  one  month  previous  to 
breeding  would  have  any  deleterious  effect.  As  stated  above, 
three  of  these  gilts  required  but  one  service  and  carried  their 
fetuses  to  maturity,  so  the  vaccine  was  not  harmful  to  them.  The 
fourth  did  not  conceive,  so  some  disturbance  may  have  occurred 
in  her  genital  organs  as  a result  of  vaccination.  Unfortunately 
these  organs  were  not  examined  when  she  was  slaughtered,  so  we 
can  only  surmise  what  changes,  if  any,  had  taken  place  in  them 
that  could  be  attributed  to  the  vaccine.  It  should  be  understood 
that  some  gilts  are  barren  from  other  causes  than  infection  with 
abortion  bacilli,  for  example,  gilt  9 used  as  a control  (see  Table 

in). 

These  results  may  very  profitably  be  contrasted  with  those 
secured  with  the  gilts  in  series  IB.  The  conditions  were  compar- 
able in  every  way  except  the  method  of  administering  the  vaccine, 
which  was  given  intravenously  instead  of  subcutaneously.  Of 
the  four  gilts  in  series  IB,  two  aborted,  one  became  barren,  and 
one  farrowed  normally.  In  series  3C,  three  farrowed  normal  pigs 
and  one  became  barren.  These  results  harmonize  with  those  se- 
cured by  the  writers  some  years  ago  in  heifers  vaccinated  by  these 
two  different  methods  in  that  abortion  vaccine  is  not  effective 
unless  administered  in  relatively  large  doses,  and  subcutaneously 
rather  than  intravenously. 

Of  course,  many  more  similar  trials  must  be  carried  out  on 
swine  with  live  cultures  used  as  an  immunizing  agent  before  one 
would  be  safe  in  making  anything  more  than  a very  guarded 
statement  relative  to  the  value  of  vaccination  as  a means  of  pre- 


30  Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 

venting  infectious  abortion  in  swine.  However,  we  are  convinced 
that  the  work  here  presented  is  sufficiently  encouraging  to  justify 
much  hope  and  encouragement. 

The  criticism  has  been  made  that  vaccinated  swine  may  likely 
become  permanent  infection  carriers  unless  they  are  immunized 
when  quite  young.  This  is  based  on  the  erroneous  assumption 
that  a reaction  to  the  blood  tests  means  active  infection  and  abil- 
ity to  transmit  the  disease.  That  there  is  no  ground  for  so  inter- 
preting serologic  reactions  has  been  shown  already.  In  further 
support  of  our  contention,  attention  is  directed  to  agglutination 
reactions  of  the  four  gilts  in  series  3C.  It  will  be  seen  that  two 
of  them  showed  no  evidence  of  infection  after  three  months, 
while  all  evidence  had  disappeared  from  the  third  after  four 
months  and  from  the  fourth  after  five  months.  Gilts  6,  1,  and  3 
in  Table  III  were  inoculated  in  October  and  became  actively  in- 
fected, yet  seven  months  afterward  had  ceased  to  react  with  the 
agglutination  test.  This  preliminary  work  would,  therefore,  lead 
to  the  conclusion  that  little  fear  need  be  entertained  of  establish- 
ing permanent  infection  carriers  by  vaccination  of  sows  three  or 
more  weeks  before  they  are  bred. 

The  question  of  practical  importance  is  whether  it  is  better  to 
attempt  to  produce  immunity  by  vaccination  or  to  attempt  to  con- 
trol the  disease  either  by  slaughter  or  by  isolation  of  all  hogs 
that  give  a reaction  with  the  serum  tests.  We  freely  admit  that 
at  present  we  are  not  in  a position  to  answer  this  question ; but 
hope  to  do  so  eventually  from  information  to  be  gained  through 
experiments  being  conducted  by  others  as  well  as  ourselves. 

Naturally  Acquired  or  Spontaneous  Immunity 

In  the  experiments  just  described  both  the  dead  and  the  live 
bacilli  were  used  as  immunizing  agents  and  the  treated  animals 
developed  the  type  of  immunity  known  as  artificially  acquired 
immunity.  We  will  now  consider  that  type  of  immunity  which 
is  developed  by  an  animal  becoming  infected  with  abortion  in  a 
natural  way,  viz.,  naturally  acquired  or  spontaneous  immunity. 

The  experience  of  the  breeders  who  answered  our  question- 
naire was  that  recurrence  of  abortion  in  sows  is  relatively  rare. 
This  teaches  that  sows  usually  develop  an  immunity  against  in- 
fectious abortion  through  having  acquired  the  disease  and  re- 


in in i in fiiiaiiiiiiMiBT 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  31 


covered.  To  get  a more  definite  line  on  the  subject,  the  breeding 
and  farrowing  records  on  a number  of  sows  in  one  large  herd 
have  been  tabulated  in  Table  V.  These  sows  were  chosen  for 
tabulation  because  their  records  were  found  to  be  most  nearly 
complete,  so  they  are  representative.  A study  of  the  data  in  the 
table  shows  that  the  chances  of  a sow  aborting  in  the  next  or  a 
later  gestation  period  after  abortion  has  occurred  are  very  re- 
mote. All  of  these  seven  sows  conceived  promptly  and  far- 
rowed normally  after  aborting.  The  number  of  pigs  per  litter 
was  not  reduced.  It  is  noteworthy  that  all  except  one  of  the  seven 
sows,  whose  breeding  and  farrowing  records  are  recorded  in 
Table  V,  aborted  as  gilts,  that  is,  during  their  first  gestation  pe- 
riod. Moreover,  although  there  were  many  mature  sows  in  the 
herd  at  the  time  only  a very  few  aborted.  The  spontaneous  im- 


TABLE  V.— BREEDING  AND  FARROWING  RECORDS  OF 
ABORTING  SOWS. 


No.  of 

Dates  of 

Dates  of 

Days 

Number 

Sow 

Breeding 

Parturition 

Pregnant 

in  Litter 

Remarks 

10 

1-  1-20 

? 

V 

9 

Aborted 

5-  3-20 

8-27-20 

116 

4 

Normal 

11-20-20 

3-17-21 

117 

11 

Normal 

11-  9-21 

3-  5-22 

116 

8 

Normal 

33 

12-10-19 

? 

9 

? 

Aborted 

5-  4-20 

8-28-20 

116 

7 

Normal 

11-29-20 

3-26-21 

117 

9 

Normal 

1-10-22 

5-  7-22 

117 

8 

Normal 

160 

11-17-20 

2-  8-21 

83 

9 

Aborted 

10-13-21 

2-  4-22 

114 

Normal 

93 

? 

1-15-21 

9 

? 

Aborted 

4-25-21 

8-15-21 

112 

10 

Normal 

11-29-21 

3-20-22 

111 

10 

Normal 

111 

1-  9-21 

2-  2-21 

24 

9 

Aborted 

5-11-21 

8-30-21 

111 

5 

Normal 

12-11-21 

4-  4-22 

114 

5 

•Normal 

666 

1-  1-21 

2-28-21 

58 

? 

A.borted 

5-11-21 

9 

9 

9 

Normal 

11-16-21 

3-  6-22 

lio 

12 

Normal 

6559 Tl 

5-20-20 

9-15-20 

■ 

118 

10 

Normal 

11-17-20 

1-15-21 

59 

9 

Aborted 

5-21-21 

9-14-21 

116 

i3 

Normal 

12-  3-21 

4-  3-22 

121 

9 

Normal 

32 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


munity  in  these  cases  persisted  to  date,  or  so  long  afterward  as  dt 
has  been  possible  to  secure  records.  This  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  during  this  entire  period  the  infection  was  known  to  exist  in 
the  herd  and  these  sows  were  accordingly  more  or  less  continu- 
ously exposed  to  infection,  yet  they  have  not  aborted.  Clinical 
results  of  this  kind  are  really  more  accurate  means  of  determin- 
ing immunity  than  are  serologic  tests,  as  the  blood  of  artificially 
immunized  animals  frequently  loses  its  agglutinating  and  comple- 
ment fixing  power  before  the  animal  loses  its  resistance.  This 
was  well  demonstrated  by  the  agglutination  test  on  samples  of 
blood  from  the  seven  sows  under  discussion. 

These  facts  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  abortion  disease  in 
swine  is  a self-limiting  infection,  and  that  swine  rapidly  develop 
an  immunity  following  naturally  acquired  infection.  This  augurs 
strongly  for  vaccination,  especially  in  infected  herds.  Unfortu- 
nately some  of  the  aborting  sows  in  this  herd  failed  to  come  in 
heat,  so  were  sold.  If  these  had  been  included  in  the  table,  it 
would  be  evident  that  abortion  infection  does  impair  the  breeding 
efficiency  of  a herd. 

SUMMARY  AND  DEDUCTIONS 

The  drawing  of  deductions  from  the  preliminary  investigations 
described  in  this  bulletin  is  done  with  considerable  hesitancy,  as 
it  is  realized  that  only  a small  number  of  animals  were  available 
for  the  work,  so  the  data  are  relatively  meager  and  in  a few  in- 
stances contradictory.  The  writers  appreciate  the  danger  of 
passing  premature  judgment  on  experimental  work  of  this  kind 
and  are  aware  that  further  observations  must  be  made  before 
definite  conclusions  may  safely  be  drawn.  However,  since  some 
of  the  results  are  so  clear-cut,  they  justify  the  following  state- 
ments : 

1.  An  infectious  disease  of  swine  characterized  by  the  sow 
aborting  her  fetuses  is  prevalent  in  herds  in  Wisconsin  and  other 
swine-raising  states. 

2.  The^  disease  is  so  much  more  likely  to  be  introduced  into  a 
clean  herd  by  purchase  of  swine  from  an  infected  herd  than  bv 
feeding  dairy  products  containing  bovine  abortion  germs,  that  in- 
fection from  cattle  may  be  practically  ignored. 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  33 

3.  The  cause  of  infectious  swine  abortion  is  a microorganism 
that  is  a close  relative  to  the  bacillus  which  is  known  to  be  respon- 
sible for  most  cases  of  abortion  in  cattle. 

4.  Porcine  abortion  bacilli  have  been  shown  to  be  present  in 
aborted  fetal  pigs,  infected  placentae,  and  in  the  colostrum  or 
first  milk  of  aborting  sows. 

5.  Tests  to  differentiate  between  strains  of  B.  abortus  from 
swine  and  cattle  respectively  showed  them  to  be  morphologically 
identical  and  culturally  similar,  but  biologically  unlike. 

6.  The  strains  of  abortion  bacilli  of  porcine  origin  used  in  this 
investigation  caused  abortion  in  most  of  the  several  pregnant 
sows  and  in  the  only  pregnant  cow  inoculated. 

7.  The  strains  of  abortion  bacilli  of  bovine  origin  caused  abor- 
tion in  a pregnant  cow,  but  failed  to  cause  it  in  any  of  the  pregnant 
sows  inoculated. 

8.  These  results  indicate  that  infectious  abortion  of  swine  and 
of  cattle  are  not  caused  by  an  identical  organism  and  that  the 
strains  of  the  organisms  used  were  virulent. 

9.  The  infection  may  be  contracted  by  ingesting  abortion  bacilli, 
but  sows  appeared  to  have  considerable  resistance  against  abor- 
tion bacilli  introduced  by  way  of  the  mouth  before  they  were 
bred. 

10.  Intravenous  infection  before  breeding  was  a means  of  pro- 
ducing abortion  in  about  75  per  cent  of  the  cases  under  experi- 
ment. 

11.  A boar  injected  intrapreputially  was  able  to  transmit  the 
disease  to  sows  which  he  covered  shortly  after  receivir.g  the 

inoculum. 

12.  This  boar  reacted  to  the  blood  tests,  but  had  the  ability  to 
overcome  the  infection  within  two  months. 

13.  The  average  incubation  period  of  infectious  abortion  in 
sows  was  found  to  be  23.2  days ; in  cows  58  days. 

14.  A definite  correlation  was  found  to  exist  between  the  in- 
cubation period  and  the  gestation  period. 

15.  Sows  in  infected  herds  aborted  as  early  as  24  days  and  as 
late  as  90  days  after  being  bred,  the  average  being  65.1  days. 

16.  The  intradermic  test  was  shown  to  be  of  no  practical  value 
as  a means  of  diagnosis. 

17.  The  infectious  organisms  may  be  demonstrated  in  and 
isolated  from  infective  material  by  means  of  bacteriological  tests. 


34 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  55 


18.  The  abortion  bacilli  rarely  may  be  resident  in  the  testicles 
of  boars,  but  since  they  have  been  isolated  from  infected  testicles, 
it  is  proved  that  the  boar  may  become  a carrier  of  the  disease. 

19.  Serologic  or  blood  tests  were  found  to  be  the  most  satisfac- 
tory means  of  detecting  the  disease  in  a herd. 

20.  Blood  serum  of  infected  sows  agglutinated  test  fluids  pre- 
pared from  both  porcine  and  bovine  strains  of  B.  abortus,  as  did 
blood  serum  from  infected  cows  (cross  agglutination). 

21.  Agglutination  tests  indicate  that  the  abortion  organisms  do 
not  produce  disease  in  young  pigs. 

22.  A bacterin  prepared  from  killed  abortion  organisms  was 
tried,  but  the  results  secured  from  its  use^  were  not  clear-cut 
enough  to  justify  passing  judgment  upon  this  product  as  an  im- 
munizing agent. 

23.  A vaccine  prepared  from  live  cultures  of  the  organism 
gave  much  better  results  when  administered  subcutaneously  than 
intravenously. 

24.  Vaccination  is  a certain  means  of  conferring  active  immu- 
nity, and  gives  promise  of  being  an  effective  means  of  control,  but 
whether  it  should  be  used  generally  has  not  been  determined. 

25.  Infection  carriers  were  not  established  as  a result  of  vac- 
cination, and  none  were  detected  among  the  various  sows  which 
had  aborted  and  recovered  from  the  infection. 

26.  Gilts  under  natural  conditions  are  more  likely  to  acquire 
abortion  infection  and  abort  than  are  sows. 

27.  The  duration  of  the  spontaneous  immunity  was  sufficient 
to  protect  some  sows  throughout  three  subsequent  gestation  pe- 
riods and  probably  longer. 

28.  Infectious  abortion  in  swine  appears  to  be  a self-limiting 
disease  in  that  a naturally  acquired  infection  usually  is  followed 
by  immunity. 

29.  The  breeding  efficiency  of  sows  which  have  aborted  may 
or  may  not  be  impaired,  depending  upon  the  individual. 

Literature  Cited 

(1)  Beach,  B.  A.  Contagious  Abortion  of  Sows.  Proc.  Wis. 
Vet.  Med.  Assn.,  1921,  p.  87-90. 

(2)  Good  and  Smith.  Bacillus  Abortus  (Bang)  as  an  Etiolog- 
ical Factor  in  Infectious  Abortion  in  Swine.  Jour,  of  Bact., 
v.  1,  1916,  p.  415-422. 


An  Experimental  Study  of  Infectious  Abortion  35 


. (3)  Connaway,  Durant  and  Newman.  Contagious  Abortion  In- 
vestigations (Cattle  and  Swine).  Bui.  172,  Mo.  Agric.  Exp. 
Sta.  Annual  Report,  1920,  p.  45. 

(4)  Hayes  and  Traum.  Preliminary  Report  on  Abortion  in 
Swine  Caused  by  B.  Abortus  (Bang).  North  Am.  Vet.,  v. 
1,  1920,  p.  58-62. 

(5)  Doyle  and  Spray.  Infectious  Abortion  of  Swine.  Jour. 
Inf.  Dis.,  v.  27,  1920,  p.  165-168. 

(6)  Beach,  B.  A.  Abortion  of  Sows.  Bui.  339,  Wis.  Agric. 
Exp.  Sta.  Annual  Report,  1921,  p.  13  and  14. 

(7)  Connaway,  Durant,  and  Newman.  Infectious  Abortion  in 
Swine.  Bui.  187,  Mo.  Agric.  Exp.  Sta.,  1921. 

(8)  Hayes,  F.  M.,  and  Phipps,  H.  Studies  in  Swine  Abortion. 
Jour.  A.  V.  M.  A.,  n.  s.  v.  13,  no.  4,  1922,  p.  435-452. 

(9)  Hadley,  F.  B.  Contagious  Abortion  Questions  Answered. 
Bui.  296,  Wis.  Agric.  Exp.  Sta.,  192l7 

(10)  Stafseth,  H.  J.  Studies  in  Infectious  Abortion.  Tech.  Bui. 
49,  Mich.  Agric.  Exp.  Sta.,  1920. 


Research  Bulletin  56 


January,  1923 


Effect  of  Defoliation  Upon 
Blossom  Bud  Formation 


R.  H.  ROBERTS 


APr 


*0; 


AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION 
OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 
MADISON 


CONTENTS 


Pa 

Introduction  . 

Relation  of  defoliation  to  bud  formation,  1917 

Relation  of  defoliation  to  spur  growth,  1917 

Relation  of  nitrogen  reserve  to  spur  growth 

1918  defoliation  tests 

1919  defoliation  tests 

1920  defoliation  tests 

1921  defoliation  tests , .......... 

Summary 


Effect  of  Defoliation  Upon  Blossom 
Bud  Formation 


AMERICAN  PLUM  SPECIES 

R.  H.  Roberts 

TESTS  of  the  effect  of  varying  types  and  amounts  of  de- 
foliation upon  blossom  bud  formation  in  species  of 
American  plums  have  been  made  in  connection  with 
the  preliminary  work  upon  the  general  problem  of  the  forma- 
tion of  blossom  buds  by  some  fruit  trees.  It  had  been  noted 
before  1917  that  removal  of  some  or  all  of  the  leaves  from 
apple  spurs  had  inhibited  blossom  bud  formation  on  the  spurs 
from  which  the  leaves  had  been  removed.1  Magness  2 has 
found  a similar  effect  upon  lateral  blossom  bud  formation  of 
some  varieties  of  the  apple.  In  1917  the  defoliation  work  was 
extended  to  the  plum.  The  results  of  these  and  later  tests 
are  presented  at  this  time  practically  without  comment  as  to 
their  probable  significance  pending  further  detailed  studies. 

The  trees  upon  which  the  work  was  done  were  unnamed 
seedlings  from  the  crosses  made  by  the  late  E.  S.  Goff  In 
most  cases  the  trees  had  evident  Primus  nigra  characters. 
At  least  they  had  the  habit  of  developing  accessory  blossom 
buds.  The  axillary  buds  are  usually  leaf  buds  when  borne 
upon  the  longer  terminals.  The  number  of  blossom  buds  per 
node  varies  from  one  to  four,  the  number  usually  found  being 
two.  They  have  never  been  observed  to  form  as  extensively 
as  on  the  Japanese  varieties,  Prunus  triflora. 

In  the  experiments  on  leaf  removal  the  current  season  shoots 
were  used.  These  made  from  two  to  five  feet  of  growth  dur- 
ing a season.  The  trees  were  kept  heavily  headed  back  in 
order  to  produce  the  strongly  vegetative  shoots  desired  for 
the  defoliation  studies. 

Results  of  1917  Tests 

Alternate  leaves  were  removed  from  a few  of  the  new 
branches  when  the  latter  were  3 to  4 feet  in  length,  at  various 


Roberts,  R.  H.  Wis.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  317.  Fig-.  6,  p.  11,  1920. 
’Magness,  J.  R.  Ore.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  146.  1916. 


2 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  56 


periods  from  July  13  to  August  24.  Some  of  the  results  pro- 
duced were  lost  through  subsequent  pruning.  It  was  deter- 
mined, however,  that  blossom  bud  formation  was  entirely  in- 
hibited at  the  nodes  where  the  leaves  were  removed  on  July 
13,  (Fig.  1.)  The  inhibiting  effects  of  defoliation  decreased  as 
the  period  of  defoliation  became  later  in  the  season  until  on 
August  24  the  defoliation  merely  resulted  in  a decrease  of  the 
final  size  of  the  buds  at  the  defoliated  nodes. 

When  growth  was  resumed  in  the  spring  of  1918,  it  was 
noticed  that  there  was  a marked  difference  in  the  spur  growth 
at  the  nodes  defoliated  the  previous  year.  The  spurs  along 
the  branches  experimented  upon  were  alternately  long  and 
short,  the  shorter  ones  being  at  the  nodes  which  were  defol- 
iated the  previous  season,  (Fig.  2).  The  removal  of  the 
leaves  had  not  only  inhibited  or  retarded  blossom  bud  develop- 
ment, but  it  had  also  limited  the  wood  growth  made  the 
season  following,  as  shown  by  Table  1. 

Table  I. — Effect  of  Alternate  Leaf  Removal  Upon  Spur  Development 
From  the  Axillary  Buds,  Eight  Branches. 


Treatment 

Number  spurs 

Total  length 

Average  length 

Leaves  on 

55 

5,509  mm 

100.16  mm 

Leaves  off 

53 

1,387  mm 

26.17  mm 

Two  results  are  indicated  by  even  these  few  tests : 

1.  The  presence  of  the  leaves  is  necessary  to  blossom  bud 
differentiation.  Goff  3 reports  that  defoliation  did  not  inhibit 
but  merely  delayed  bud  development  in  the  plum.  It  is  sug- 
gested that  leaf  removals  earlier  in  the  season  might  have 
prevented  differentiation. 

2.  The  influence  of  defoliation  in  one  season  is  also  appar- 
ent in  the  amount  of  spur  growth  of  the  next  season.  Defolia- 
tion produced  a marked  difference  in  both  the  amount  of  tissue 
developed  (Fig.  3)  and  in  the  amount  of  local  storage  of  food 
materials  which  are  available  for  the  early  growth  during  the 
next  season. 

It  is  suggested,  on  the  basis  of  preliminary  micro-chemical 
studies  and  quantitative  chemical  analyses,  that  the  difference 

* Goff.  E.  S.  Investigation  of  flower  buds.  In  17th  Ann.  Rpt.  Wis.  Agr. 
Expt.  Sta.  266-285.  1900. 


Effect  of  Defoliation  Upon  Blossom  Bud 


d 


FIG.  1.  FIG.  2. 

FIG.  1.— EFFECT  OF  DEFOLIATION  UPON  BLOSSOM  BUD  FORMATION 
The  leaves  were  removed  at  alternate  nodes  in  the  previous  season. 
No  blossom  buds  were  formed  (arrows).  Blossoms  developed  at  the  al- 
ternate untreated  nodes. 

FIG.  2. — EFFECT  OF  DEFOLIATION  UPON  SPUR  GROWTH 
Not  only  were  no  blossom  buds  formed  at  defoliated  nodes,  but  spurs 
produced  at  these  points  (arrows)  were  shorter  and  smaller  than  at  the 
untreated  nodes.  Table  II,  Figure  4. 


4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  56 


in  reserve  nitrogen  may  be  the  factor  causing  the  difference 
in  spur  growth  at  defoliated  and  check  nodes,  Table  II. 


FIG  3 effect  qf  defoliation  upon  tissue  DEVELOPMEN’ 

these  regions. 


Effect  of  Defoliation  Upon  Blossom  Bud 


Table  II. — Difference  in  Growth  and  Nitrogen  Content  at  Alternate 
Defoliated  and  Undefoliated  Nodes  of  American  Plum,  1921-22. 


Treatment 

Nodes 

New  growths! 

Percentage  total  nitrogen 

Dry  Wt.* 

Percentag'e 

moisture 

Dry  Wt. 

P’PTnpn  t a p’p 

Base 

Spurs 
June  2 

X CILClllagv 

moisture 

April  12 

June  2 

Defoliated 

16.9 

49.8 

1.88 

58.7 

.81% 

.76% 

1.40% 

Check 

19.44 

55.2 

9.31 

61.9 

1.43% 

.98% 

1.56% 

* The  samples  taken  were  merely  chips  Including  the  leaf  and  branch  gaps  and  buds 
with  some  wood  attached,  (Fig.  4).  There  was  an  equal  number  of  nodes  for  both 
defoliated  and  check  samples. 

f Many  buds  at  the  defoliated  nodes  did  not  start  growths.  The  growths  made  were 
much  shorter  and  smaller  than  in  1918,  Table  I. 

Results  of  1918  Tests 

One  hundred  and  ten  limbs  were  used  to  test  the  effects  of 


varying  amounts  and  kinds  of  defoliation  in  1918.  Thirty 


FIG.  4.— UNDEFOLIATED  NODES  HAVE  A LARGE  NITROGEN  RE- 
SERVE 

Diagrams  illustrate  the  nature  of  the  samples.  The  graphs  show  the 
total  nitrogen  content  of  the  base  and  new  growth  of  defoliated  and 
undefoliated  nodes,  Table  II. 


6 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  56 


of  these  growths  were  useless  because  they  were  made  upon 
trees  which  normally  produced  few  accessory  blossom  buds. 
The  limbs  used  varied  in  length  from  27  to  58  inches.  Little 
growth  was  made  after  the  time  of  the  defoliations.  The 
greatest  increase  in  length  after  this  time  was  seven  inches, 
though  few  branches  grew  more  than  three  inches.  Many  had 
ceased  growth  at  the  time  of  treatment. 


FIG.  5.— STAGES  IN  DEVELOPMENT  OF  BLOSSOM  BUD 


(A.)  Blossom  bud  primordia  (arrows)  are  apparent  under  the  outer 
scales  (a)  of  the  axillary  buds  as  close  as  one-quarter  inch  from  the 
growing  tip  of  the  branch.  (B.)  Condition  of  bud  at  one-half  inch  from 
the  growing  tip  of  the  branch.  (C.)  The  accessory  buds  have  greatly 
enlarged  and  assumed  the  external  appearance  of  blossom  buds.  This 
development  does  not  take  place  at  defoliated  nodes.  The  growing  point 
does  not  yet  show  differentiation  into  floral  primordia.  (D.)  Unequal 
enlargement  of  the  growing  apex  indicates  the  presence  of  floral  pri- 
mordia. (E)  Blossom  primordia  are  well  developed.  (F)  Sepal  develop- 
ment beginning.  (G.)  Diagram  of  leaf  to  show  cuts  made  to  remove 
different  fractions  of  the  blade  (dotted  lines)  and  also  to  indicate 
point  at  which  midrib  was  cut  at  base  of  blade  (arrow). 


Effect  of  Defoliation  Upon  Blossom  Bud 


/ 


The  tests  were  started  from  July  6 to  10.  This  was  earlier 
than  in  1917.  That  year  defoliation  entirely  inhibited  blossom 
bud  differentiation.  However,  some  blossom  bud  formation 
had  taken  place  July  6,  1918,  at  least  the  blossom  buds  on  some 
trees  had  started  to  grow  and  were  clearly  discernible  at  that 
time  (Fig.  5,  C),  though  differentiation  of  the  flower  parts  was 
not  apparent.  Gross  examination  revealed  no  great  differ- 
ence in  the  time  of  bud  formation  near  the  base  and  at  the  end 
of  the  branches,  although  the  basal  buds  differentiate  first. 
Blossom  buds  were  formed  throughout  the  length  of  four  foot 
growths.  They  appeared  about  the  time  growth  in  length 
of  the  branch  had  ceased,  (Fig.  5,D).  Earlier  defoliation  would 
probably  have  given  more  marked  results  than  those  secured 
from  the  1918  work. 

Examination  of  the  axillary  leaf  buds  showed  that  the  blos- 
som bud  primordia  are  present  in  the  youngest  buds.  At  least 
they  are  found  in  buds  within  one  quarter  inch  of  the  grow- 
ing tip  of  the  branches,  (Fig.  5,  A).  The  terminals  make  as  much 
as  one  and  a half  to  two  inches  of  growth  per  day  during  the 
period  of  most  rapid  elongation.  Defoliation  prevented  the 
further  development  of  the  primordia  which  appear  to  be  pres- 
ent in  all  axillary  leaf  buds  of  the  varieties  observed. 

Following  are  the  data  on  the  inhibiting  effects  of  defolia- 
tion upon  blossom  bud  formation,  in  1918,  Table  III. 


Table  III. — Summary  op  1918  Results  of  Defoliation. 


Treatment 

No. 

trees 

No. 

branches 

Nodes 

Check 

av. 

Percentage 
normal  no. 
buds 

No. 

|Av.  buds 

Alternate  leaves  off. . — _ 

6 

15 

291 

.07 

.40 

17.5% 

Alternate  midribs  cut  at  base  of  blade 

2 

2 

42 

.34 

.65 

52.3% 

Two  leaves  in  three  off 

1 

2 

! 60 

.15 

.35 

42.8% 

Alternate  five  leaves  off 

5 

7 

144 

.10 

.50 

20.0% 

Leaves  off  lower  half  branch 

5 

6 

115 

.12 

.44 

27.3% 

Leaves  off  upper  half  branch 

5 

5 

91 

.07 

.44 

15.9% 

One-third  leaf  blade  off 

4 

4 

146 

.34 

.46 

73.9 % 

One-half  leaf  blade  off. 

6 

16 

534 

.16 

.40 

40.0% 

Two-thirds  leaf  blade  off 

6 

6 

230 

.14 

.40 

35.0% 

One-half  blade  off  on  one  side 

4 

4 

160 

.33 

.59 

55.9% 

Midrib  cut  at  base  of  blade 

2 

2 

80 

.27 

.65 

41.5% 

Midrib  cut  at  center  of  blade.— 

1 

1 

40 

.93 

1.10 

84.5% 

Total  

70 

1,933 

It  is  apparent  from  Table  III  that  the  effects  of  defoliation 
in  1918  were  much  less  pronounced  than  in  1917  when 
total  inhibition  was  attained,  there  being  17.5  per  cent  of  the 
normal  number  of  buds  formed  following  the  same  treatment 
in  1918. 


8 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  56 


The  relation  of  the  removal  of  different  fractions  of  the  leaf 
blade  to  subsequent  blossom  bud  differentiation  is  marked. 
As  this  is  even  more  striking  in  other  years  when  the  work  is 
done  earlier  in  the  season  further  discussion  of  this  and  other 
treatments  will  be  considered  later. 

In  the  case  of  leaves  having  one-half  of  the  blade  cut  off 
along,  instead  of  across  the  midrib,  it  was  noted  that  the 
blossom  buds  appeared  on  the  side  of  the  axillary  bud  corres- 
ponding to  the  side  of  the  leaf  remaining.  Further  observa- 
tions, however,  showed  the  phenomenon  of  the  blossom  buds 
being  mostly  at  one  side  or  the  other  of  the  leaf  buds  often  oc- 
curs. (See  Table  IV.)  Only  two  branches  having  half  of 
each  leaf  cut  off  parallel  to  the  midrib  produced  many  buds. 
Their  records  follow : 


Table  IV. — Appearance  of  Blossom  Buds  in  Relation  to  Leaf  Buds, 


Branch 

Number  73* . 

Check _ . . 

Check . _ _ 

Check—  . 

Check 

Check — . . ..  

Number  buds 

No.  nodes** 

Right 

Left 

5 

11 

10 

2 

3 

14 

18 

25 

9 

5 

19 

18 

3 

4 

33 

22 

22 

22 

21 

19 

28 

Number  98* - __  

5 

22 

34 

Check.  _ — - 

15 

5 

22 

Check..  

20 

5 

' 28 

Check-. 

15 

2 

24 

Check 

19 

3 

24 

Check.. _ 

2 

14  . 

19 

Check 

23 

4 

29 

Check ___  

4 

21 

32 

Check — _ 

i 4 

21 

28 

* Branches  number  73  and  number  98  had  the  right  sides  of  the  leaf  blades  removed. 
**  Not  counting  small  basal  nodes  where  few  accessories  ever  appear. 


Results  of  1919  Tests 

In  1919  the  defoliation  work  was  begun  earlier  in  the  season 
in  order  to  test  the  fullest  effects  of  the  leaf  removals.  Also  a 
record  was  kept  of  the  amount  of  growth  of  the  branches  at 
the  time  of  treatment  as  well  as  after  growth  had  ceased. 
Over  200  branches,  exclusive  of  checks,  were  used  during  the 
season.  The  data  are  presented  in  Tables  V and  VI. 


Effect  of  Defoliation  Upon  Blossom  Bud 


9 


Table  V. — Summary  Plum  Defoliation  Data,  1919. 


Date 

Treatment 

Number  trees 

Number  branches 

Nodes 

Buds  check 

Percentage 
normal  number 
buds 

Percentage 
growth  at  time 
of  defoliation 

No. 

Av. 

buds 

June 

One-third  leaf  blade  off 

5 

7 

153 

.97 

1.38 

70.3 

59.7 

IG-17 

One-half  leaf  blade  off 

5 

13 

272  ! 

.56 

1.38 

40.6 

58.3 

Two-thirds  leaf  blade  off 

5 

7 

155  | 

.24 

1.38 

17.4 

63.1 

Alternate  leaf  off— off  node 

7 

27 

303  i 

.12 

1.45 

8.3 

56.3 

Alternate  leaf  off— on  node 

7 

27 

302  1 

1.08 

1.45 

74.5 

56.3 

Alternate  3 leaves  off— off  node 

5 

6 

69 

.24 

1.40 

17.1 

64.2 

Alternate  3 leaves  off— on  node 

5 

6 

69 

1.21 

1.40 

86.3 

64.2 

Midrib  cut  at  center 

4 

4 

71 

.81 

1.41 

57.5 

51.5 

Alternate  midrib  cut  at  base  (off).. 

4 

5 

51 

.47 

1.49 

31.6 

58.3 

Alternate  midrib  cut  at  base  (on).. 

4 

5 

51 

1.36 

1.49 

91.2 

58.3 

Right  side  leaf  blade  off  (off) 

5 

5 

97 

.30 

.67 

44.8 

63.8 

Right  side  leaf  blade  off  (on) 

5 

5 

97 

.56 

.67 

l 83.6 

63.8 

Left  side  leaf  blade  off  (off).. 

3 

5 

103 

.19 

.69 

27.6 

58.1 

Left  side  leaf  blade  off  (on) 

3 

5 

101 

.30 

.69 

43.5 

58.1 

Leaves  off  lower  half  branch  (off)... 

4 

4 

42 

.07 

1.41 

5.0 

61.2 

Leaves  off  lower  half  branch  (on).__ 

4 

4 

43 

1.03 

1.41 

73.0 

61.2 

Leaves  off  upper  half  branch  (off)— 

3 

' i 3 

33 

.46 

1.53 

1 30.4 

.77.8 

Leaves  off  upper  half  branch  (on)— 

3 

: i 3 

31 

1.34 

1.53 

1 87.6 

77.8 

Tune 

One-third  leaf  blade  off-. 

5 

- 1 6 

174 

1.16 

1.38 

84.0 

76.5 

25-26 

One-half  leaf  blade  off 

5 

- ! 7 

199 

1.06 

1.38 

76.8 

77.0 

Two-thirds  leaf  blade  off 

5 

6 

172 

| .59 

1.38 

42.7 

86.0 

Alternate  leaf  off— off  node 

7 

' 20 

320 

.47 

1.45 

32.4 

77.8 

Alternate  leaf  off— on  node. 

7 

' 20 

320 

1.55 

1.45 

106.9 

77.8 

Alternate  2 leaves  off— off  node 

3 

: i 3 

49 

.49 

1.57 

31.2 

78.6 

Alternate  2 leaves  off— on  node 

3 

: 3 

50 

1.45 

1.57 

92.3 

78.6 

Alternate  3 leaves  off— off  node 

2 

! 2 

36 

.39 

1.52 

25.7 

78.2 

Alternate  3 leaves  off— on  node 

2 2 

36 

1.72 

1.52 

: 113.2 

78.2 

Midrib  cut  at  center 

1 

1 

25 

2.28 

2.05 

111.2 

81.2 

Alternate  midrib  cut  at  base  (off)— 

5 

- 6 

92 

1.17 

1.38 

94.8 

83.5 

Alternate  midrib  cut  at  base  (on)— 

5 

- ! 6 

92 

1 1.47 

1.38 

106.6 

83.5 

Right  side  leaf  blade  off  (off)... 

5 

; | 6 

168 

.60 

.71 

84.5 

77.4 

Right  side  leaf  blade  off  (on) 

5 

► 6 

168 

.65 

.71 

91.6 

77.4 

Left  side  leaf  blade  off  (off) 

1 

1 

29 

1.0 

1.03 

97.1 

84.8 

Left  side  leaf  blade  off  (on) 

1 

1 

29 

1.17 

1.03 

113.6 

84.8 

Leaves  off  lower  half  branch  (off).. 

3 3 

36 

.58 

1.52 

38.1 

83.2 

Leaves  off  lower  half  branch  (on)— 

3 

r 3 

36 

1.59 

1.52 

104.6 

83.2 

Leaves  off  upper  half  branch  (off)— 

3 

: 3 

39 

.87 

1.52 

57.3 

1 83.5 

Leaves  off  upper  half  branch  (on).. 

3 

! 3 

f 35 

1.75 

1.52 

115.1 

83.5 

•July 

One-third  leaf  blade  off 

1 

l 

42 

2.15 

2.05 

104.8 

88.6 

3 

One-half  leaf  blade  off 

1 

l 

' 40 

1.82 

2.05 

88.8 

88.1 

Two-thirds  leaf  blade  off 

1 

l 

42 

1.64 

2.05 

80.0 

84.5 

Alternate  leaf  off— off  node 

3 

1 17 

i 302 

1.16 

1.77 

65.5 

92.3 

Alternate  leaf  off— on  node 

3 

i 17 

: 301 

1.76 

1.77 

99.3 

92.3 

Alternate  2 leaves  off— off  node. 

1 

1 

18 

1.39 

2.05 

67.8 

S 91.8 

Alternate  2 leaves  off — on  node 

1 

. ' 1 

18 

2.22 

2.05 

108.2 

91.8 

Right  side  leaf  blade  off  (off) 

1 

j 2 

70 

1.13 

1.03 

109.7 

95.0 

Right  side  leaf  blade  off  (on) 

1 

’ 2 

! 69 

1.07 

1.03 

103.8 

95.0 

Left  side  leaf  blade  off  (off) 

1 

1 

! 32 

.88 

1.03 

85.4 

100.0 

Left  side  leaf  blade  off  (on)— 

1 

1 

i 32 

.97 

1.03 

94.2 

100.0 

July 

One-third  leaf  blade  off 

3 

! 4 

1 167 

1.57 

1.76 

89.2 

90.4 

10 

One-half  leaf  blade  off 

c 

: 4 

1 153 

1.38 

1.76 

78.4 

94.2 

Two-thirds  leaf  blade  off 

3 4 

157 

1.43 

1.76 

81.2 

94.4 

Alternate  leaf  off— off  nnde_ 

7 11 

204 

1.16 

1.45 

79.9 

95.3 

Alternate  leaf  off — on  node  . 

r 11 

201 

1.38 

1.45 

95.2 

95.3 

Alternate;  2 leaves  off — off  node 

€ 

; 10 

190 

1.11 

1.43 

77.7 

97.1 

Alternate  2 leaves  off— on  node 

6 

> 10 

188 

1.38 

1.43 

96.5 

97.1 

July 

Alternate  leaves  off — off  node 

1 

4 

79 

1.71 

1.61 

106.2 

100.0 

24 

Alternate  leaves  off— on  node 

1 4 

78 

1.67 

1.61 

103.8 

100.0 

10 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  56 


Table  VI. — Summary  Plum  Defoliation  Data,  1919.  (Transposition  of 

Table  V.) 


Treatment 

Date 

Number  trees 

Number  branches 

Nodes 

Buds  check 

Percentage 
normal  number 
buds 

Percentage 
growth  at  time 
of  defoliation 

No. 

Av. 

buds 

Alternate  leaf  off— off  node 

June 

16-17  | 

7 

27 

303  i 

.12 

! 

1.45 

8.3 

56.3 

June 

25-26  ! 

7 

20 

320  i 

.47 

1.45 

32.4 

77.8 

July 

1-  3 | 

3 

17 

302 

1.16 

1.77 

65.6 

92.3 

July 

10 

7 

11 

204 

1.16 

1.45  1 

79.9 

95.3 

July 

24 

1 

4 

79  1 

1.71 

1.61 

106.2 

100.0 

Alternate  leaf  off— on  node 

June 

16-17 

7 

27 

302  | 

1.08 

1.45  ; 

74.5 

56.3 

June 

25-26 

7 

20 

320  1 

1.55 

1.45 

106.9 

77.8 

July 

1-  3 

3 

17 

301  i 

1.76 

1.77  i 

99.3 

92.3 

July 

10 

7 

11 

201 

1.38 

1.45  ; 

95.2 

95.3 

July 

24 

1 

4 

78  1 

1.67  i 

1.61  ! 

103.8  I 

100.0 

One-third  leaf  blade  off... 

June 

16-17 

5 

7 

153 

.97  : 

1.38 

70.3 

59.7 

June 

25-26 

5 

6 

174  ; 

1.16 

1.38  ! 

84.0 

76.5 

July 

1-  3 1 

1 

1 

42  1 

2.15 

2.05  ; 

104.8 

88.6 

July 

10 

3 

4 

167 

1.57 

1.76  1 

89.2 

90.4 

One-half  leaf  blade  off  

June 

16-17  1 

5 

13 

272  1 

.56 

1.38 

40.6 

58.8 

June 

25-26 

5 

7 

199 

1.06  i 

1.38 

76.8 

77.0 

July 

1-  3 

1 

1 

40 

1.82 

2.05  ; 

88.8 

88.1 

July 

10 

3 

4 

153 

1.38  i 

1.76  | 

78.4 

94.2 

Two-thirds  leaf  blade  off 

June 

16-17 

5 

7 

155 

.24 

1.38 

17.4 

63.1 

June 

25-26 

5 

6 

172  ; 

.59  | 

1.38  ; 

42.7 

86.0 

July 

1-  3 

1 

1 

42  ! 

1.64 

2.05 

80.0 

84.5 

July 

10 

8 

4 

157  1 

1.43 

1.76 

81.2 

94.4 

Midrib  cut  at  center.. 

June 

16-17 

4 

4 

71 

.81  j 

1.41 

57.5 

51.5 

June 

25-26 

1 

1 

25  ! 

2.28 

2.05 

111.2 

; 81.2 

Alternate  midrib  cut  at  base— off-- 

June 

16-17 

4 

5 

51 

.47 

1.49 

31.6 

58.3 

June 

25-26 

i 5 

6 

92 

1.17  | 

1.38 

94.8 

83.5 

Alternate  midrib  cut  at  base— on. . 

June 

16-17 

i 4 

5 

51 

1.36  ! 

1.49 

91.2 

58.3 

June 

25-26 

5 

6 

92 

1.47 

1.38 

106.6 

83.5 

Alternate  2 leaves  off— off  node 

June 

25-26 

3 

49 

• 49 

1.57 

31.2 

! 78.6 

July 

1-  3 

! i 

1 

18 

1.39 

2.05  ! 

67.8 

91.8 

July 

10 

! 6 

10 

190 

1.11 

1.43 

77.7 

97.1 

Alternate  2 leaves  off— on  node 

June 

25-26 

3 

3 

50 

1.45 

1.57 

92.3 

78.6 

July 

1-  3 

1 

1 

18 

2.22 

2.05  1 

108.2 

91.8 

July 

10 

! 6 

10 

18 8 

1.38 

1.43 

96.5 

97.1 

Alternate  3 leaves  off— off  node— 

June 

16-17 

I 5 

6 

69 

.24 

1.40 

17.1 

64.2 

June 

25-26 

! 2 

2 

36 

.39 

1.52 

25.7 

78.2 

Alternate  3 leaves  off— on  node— 

June 

16-17 

5 

6 

' 69 

1.21 

1.40  1 

86.3 

, 64.2 

June 

25-26 

2 

2 

36 

1.72 

1.52 

113.2 

1 78.2 

Leaves  off  lower  half  branch— off.. 

June 

16-17 

4 

4 

42 

.07 

1.41 

5.0 

i 61.2 

June 

25-26 

3 

3 

36 

.58 

1.52 

38.1 

! 83.2 

Leaves  off  lower  half  branch — on__ 

June 

16-17 

4 

4 

43 

1.03 

1.41 

: 73.0 

| 61.2 

June 

25-26 

3 

3 

36 

1.59 

1.52 

104.6 

1 83.2 

Leaves  off  upper  half  branch — off_. 

June 

16-17 

1 3 

3 

33 

.46 

1.53 

[ 30.4 

; 77.8 

June 

25-26 

3 

3 

39 

.87 

1.52 

1 57.3 

83.5 

Leaves  off  upper  half  branch— on. . 

June 

16-17 

3 

3 

31 

1.34 

1.53 

1 87.6 

77.8 

June 

25-26 

3 

3 

35 

1.75 

1.52 

1 115.1 

83.5 

Right  side  leaf  blade  off— off 

June 

16-17 

5 

5 

97 

.30 

.67 

i 44.8 

63.8 

June 

25-26 

1 5 

6 

i 168 

.60 

.71  1 

I 84.5 

77.4 

July 

1-  3 

1 

2 

70 

1.13 

1.03 

i 109.7 

95.0 

Right  side  leaf  blade  off— on 

June 

16-17 

! 5 

5 

97 

.56 

.67 

1 83.6 

63.8 

June 

25-26 

1 5 

6 

168 

.65 

.71 

1 91.6 

77.4 

July 

1-  3 

1 

2 

69 

1.07 

1.03 

103.8 

95.0 

Left  side  leaf  blade  off— off 

June 

16-17 

1 3 

5 

103 

.19 

.69 

27.6 

58.1 

June 

25-26 

1 1 

1 

29 

1.00 

1.03 

! 97.1 

84.8 

July 

1-  3 

! l 

1 

32 

.88 

1.03 

85.4 

100.0 

Left  side  leaf  blade  off— on... 

June 

16-17 

1 3 

5 

101 

.30 

.69 

43.5 

58.1 

June 

25-26 

! i 

1 

29 

1.17 

1.03 

113.6 

84.8 

July 

1-  3 

i 

1 

32 

.97 

1.03 

94.2 

100.0 

Effect  of  Defoliation  Upon  Blossom  Bud 


11 


It  will  be  noted  that  in  1919  the  defoliation  work  did  not 
completely  inhibit  blossom  bud  development  as  was  true  in 
1917.  This  is  not  because  of  differentiation  having  been  in- 
itiated before  the  leaves  were  removed  as  probably  occurred 
in  1918,  but  because  there  was  a marked  second  period  of  bud 
formation.  It  was  noticed  August  8,  1919  that  some  buds 
were  forming  at  defoliated  nodes  and  that  a third  and  even  a 
fourth  bud  had  appeared  on  some  untreated  nodes.  These 
were  clearly  the  result  of  a second  period  of  differentiation. 
Prior  to  this  time  there  had  been  no  blossom  buds  at  the  nodes 
which  were  defoliated  early  in  the  season. 

There  was  again,  as  in  1918,  a marked  relation  between  the 
removal  of  a fractional  part  of  the  leaf  blades  and  the  number 
of  blossom  buds  formed.  Cutting  one-third  off  the  leaf  blades 
on  June  16  reduced  the  formation  of  buds  to  70.3  per  cent  of  that 
on  check  branches,  taking  one-half  of  the  blade  off  gave  40.6 
per  cent  and  removing  two-thirds  of  the  blade  resulted  in  but 
17.4  per  cent  of  the  usual  number  of  buds. 

The  influence  of  removing  the  leaves  upon  bud  formation 
became  less  and  less  as  the  season  progressed.  Defoliation 
after  terminal  growth  was  completed  seemed  to  have  little 
effect  upon  bud  formation.  This  may  probably  be  more  in- 
cidental than  of  causal  significance,  however,  as  blossom  bud 
differentiation  on  short  spurs  is  certainly  not  as  early  as  the 
cessation  of  terminal  growth,  although  it  is  somewhat  earlier 
than  on  the  longer  more  vegetative  growths. 

Results  of  1920  Tests 

Alternate  leaves  were  removed  from  a number  of  branches 
June  18  and  19,  1920.4  This  resulted  in  practically  complete  in- 
hibition of  blossom  buds.  Exclusive  of  two  limbs  (branches 
number  32  and  33)  which  had  practically  completed  their 
growth  at  the  time  of  defoliation,  there  was  but  one  bud 
formed  at  307  defoliated  nodes  as  compared  to  280  buds  at 
300  nodes  of  untreated  branches.  The  data  are  given  in  Table 
VII. 

4 A.  L.  Schrader  of  the  Department  of  Horticulture  carried  on  this 
work. 


12 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  56 


Table  VII. — Plum  Defoliation  Data,  1920.  Alternate  Leaves  Removed 

June  18,  1920 


Tree 

| Branch  number  | 

ON 

OFF 

GROWTH 

inches 

Branch  number  \ 

CHECK 

GROWTH 

inches 

| Nodes 

Buds 

Average 

Nodes 

Buds 

Average 

Length  when 
defoliated 

Total  for 
season 

Pctge.  when 
defoliated 

03 

V 

'O 

o 

Buds 

o 

fcfl 

c3 

f-t 

0> 

> 

< 

Length  when 
defoliated 

Total  for 

season 

Pctge.  when 
defoliated  1 

4-14 

15 

8 

4 

.5 

8 

0 

.0 

15.75 

25.0 

13.0 

17 

It 

| 

6 

.4  ! 

14.75 

23.0 

63.1 

16 

8 

2 

.25 

8 

0 

.0 

15.5 

28.0 

55.3 

21 

21 

7i 

.35 

16.5 

25.0 

65.9 

18 

10 

8 

.8 

10 

0 

.0 

23.0 

41.5 

55.4 

19 

10 

7 

.7 

10 

0 

.0 

17.0 

32.5 

52.3 

i 

20 

9 

6 

.67 

9 

0 

.0 

17.5 

28.25 

32.0 

22 

10 

4 

.4 

10 

0 

.0 

18.25 

24.0 

76.0 

— 

6-10 

24 

12 

18 

1.5 

lz 

0 

.0 

18.5 

31.5 

58.7 

25 

25 

39 

1.56 

16.25 

26.5 

61.3 

26 

13 

15 

1.15 

13 

0 

.0 

21.25 

41.25 

51.5 

28 

25 

33 

1.32 

18.5 

33.75 

54.8 

27 

12 

14 

1.17 

12 

0 

.0 

19.75 

34.0 

58.1 

31 

25 

32 

1.28 

15.5 

28.5 

54.4 

29 

13 

18 

1.38 

13 

0 

.0 

19.0 

30.25 

32.8 

34 

15 

! 17 

1.13 

9.25 

19.25 

48.2 

30 

12 

17 

1.42 

12 

1* 

.08 

17.5 

26.75 

36.5 

38 

20 

] 32 

1.6 

16.0 

26.5 

60.4 

32 

9 

13 

1.44 

9 

4*1 

.44 

13.75 

14.5 

94.8 

1 .. 

33 

8 

12 

1.5 

8 

4*| 

.5 

11.0 

11.5 

95.7 

36 

12 

16 

1.33 

12!  o 

.0 

19.25 

28.75 

36.9 

! 

37 

10 

15 

1.5 

lOj  0 1 

.0 

17.0 

32.0 

53.1 

7-15 

39 

11 

5 

.45 

11  0 

.0 

15.5 

41 

20 

12 

.6 

12.75 

23  O 

55  5 

40 

8 

2 

.25 

8 

0 

.0 

11.5 

23.75 

48.4 

50 

15 

6 

.4 

12.75 

19.75  64.6 

42 

9 

0 

.0 

9 

0 

.0 

16.5 

24.0 

68.7 

48 

9 

2 

.22 

9 

0 

.0 

13.25 

18.0 

73.3 

:::: 

9-  1 

51 

8 

3 

.38 

8 

0 

.0 

12.0 

26.0 

46.2 

53 

20 

9 

.45 

11.0 

20.5 

53.6 

52 

9 

6 

.67 

9 

0 

.0 

11.5 

23.25 

49.4 

55 

15 

13 

.87 

9.75 

21.0 

46.5 

54 

8 

4 

.5 

8 

0 

.0 

10.0 

19.0 

52.6 

57 

15 

15 

1.0 

11.25 

23.25 

48.4 

56 

8 

! 2 

.25 

8 

0 

.0 

10.25 

23.5 

43.6 

61 

20 

17 

.85 

9.75 

27.0 

36.1 

58 

8 

7 

.88 

8 

0 

.0 

9.75 

23.25 

41.8 

59 

9 

i 7 

.78 

9 

0 

.0 

12.0 

19.5 

61.5 

60 

9 5 

.56 

9 

0 

.0 

12.0 

20.0 

60:0 

62 

9 

! 3 

.33 

1 9 

0 

.0 

12.0 

20.0 

60:0 

L 

9-  3 

64 

9 

5 

.56 

9 

0 

.0 

12.0 

22.0 

54.5 

63 

15 

12 

.8 

10.0 

19.75 

50:6 

65 

8 

5 

.63 

8 0 

.0 

9.75 

18.0 

54.2 

68 

15 

7 

.47 

13.5 

23.5 

58.0 

66 

8 

5 

.63 

8 

0 

.0 

11.0 

18.5 

59.4 

73 

20 

23 

1.15 

12.0 

25.5 

47.1 

67 

10  3 

.3 

10 

! 0 

.0 

12.75 

22.75  56.0 

69 

10!  12 

1.2 

10 

0 

.0 

15.0 

38.5 

38.9 

72 

9 

; 6 

.67 

9 

0 

.0 

12.5 

27.25  45.8 

74 

9 6 

.67 

9 

0 

.0 

15.5 

25.0  62.0 

Total 

1 

4-14 

6 

55!  31 

.56 

55 

0 

.0 

107.0 

179.25  59.7 

2 

35 

13 

.37 

31.25 

48.0 

65.1 

6-10 

9 1011138 

1.37 

101  9 

.09 

157.0 

250.5 

62.7 

5110 

153 

1.39 

75.5 

134.5 

156.2 

7-15 

4 

37!  9 

.24 

371  0 

.0 

41.25 

65.75 

62.7 

2 

3b 

18 

.52 

25.5 

41.75 

61.1 

9-  1 

8 

68 

37 

.54 

68 

l o 

.0 

89.5 

174.5 

51.3 

4 70 

54 

.79 

41.75 

91.75  45.5 

9-  3 

7 

63 

42 

.67 

63  0 

.0 

86.5 

172.0 

50.3 

3 

50 

42 

.84 

35.5 

68.75 

,51.7 

Total— 

34 

324 

257 

324 

9* 

481.25 

842.0 

57.2 

16  300 

280 

.933 

209.5 

384.75 

55.4 

Av 

.794 

7 028 

* Small  buds. 


Results  of  1921  Tests 

Alternate  leaves  were  removed  from  about  200  branches  on 
June  15  and  16,  1921  in  order  to  secure  material  for  chemical 
analyses.  Also  three  quarters  of  the  blades  of  all  leaves 
were  removed  from  20  additional  branches  on  June  18.  The 
results  of  these  treatments  upon  blossom  bud  formation  are 
shown  in  Table  VIII. 


Effect  of  Defoliation  Upon  Blossom  Bud 


13 


It  will  be  noted  that : 

1.  Data  collected  on  July  7 showed  almost  complete 
inhibition  of  bud  formation.  The  formation  of  buds  at 
defoliated  nodes  took  place  at  a second  period  of  differen- 
tiation. At  this  time  there  seemed  to  be  a stronger  ten- 
dency for  late  buds  to  form  at  the  alternate  untreated 
nodes  of  the  partly  defoliated  branches  than  on  the  check 
branches. 

2.  The  growth  of  the  branches  was  approximately  7 5 
per  cent  complete  on  June  15-16  as  compared  to  55  per 
cent  on  June  18-19,  1920.  This  early  cessation  of  growth 
may  have  a direct  relation  to  the  abundant  formation  of 
buds  at  the  second  period. 

Most  of  the  buds  on  the  branches  with  three-fourths  of  the 
leaf  blade  removed  were  near  the  base  of  the  branch  and  had 
probably  started  to  differentiate  before  defoliation  was  done. 


Table  VIII. — Summary,  Plum  Defoliation.  June  15-18,  1921. 


I 

Tree 

Treatment 

Date 

Number 

branches 

ON 

OFF 

Percentage 

normal 

Percentage 
| growth  when 

treated 

Nodes 

Buds 

Av. 

i Nodes 

Buds* 

Av. 

“On”  node 

“Off”  node 

6-10 

j Alt . leaves  off 

i 7-  7 

41 

549 

824 

1.5 

555 

39 

.07 

82.4 

3.8 

74.9 

(Alt.  leaves  off 

10-14 

! 73 

904 

1,695 

1.87 

91C 

615 

.68 

102.8 

37.4 

78.4 

1 Check 

10-14 

28 

694 

1,264 

1.82 

100.0 

67.3 

1-  7 

Alt.  leaves  off 

10-13 

79 

941 

1,499 

1.59 

953 

294 

.34 

89.8 

19.2 

' 74.2 

Check 

10-13 

18 

418 

741 

1.77 

100.0 

66.6 

4-15 

;4  blade  off 

10-14 

21 

661 

228 

.35 

32.1 

70.8 

Check 

! 10-14 

6 

180 

196 

1.0S 

16676 

| 66.6 

* All  buds  at  defoliated  nodes  were  noticeably  smaller  than  those  at  non-defoliated 
nodes. 


It  was  observed  that  there  was  apparently  quite  a difference 
in  the  growth  conditions  of  branches  that  had  many  and  few 
blossom  buds,  especially  at  the  defoliated  nodes.  This  differ- 
ence is  expressed  in  Table  IX.,  and  shows  that  the  branches 
forming  many  buds  were  not  only  more  nearly  through  grow- 
ing at  the  time  of  defoliation  but  also  made  less  total  growth. 
While  the  longer  growing  period  of  the  latter  probably  re- 
duced the  tendency  to.  blossom  bud  formation  as  evidenced  by 
the  development  at  the  “on”  nodes,  there  were  probably,  also, 
some  buds  on  the  shorter  growths  which  were  beginning  to 


14 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  56 


differentiate  at  the  time  of  defoliation  as  the  period  of  for- 
mation is  somewhat  earlier  on  shorter  than  on  longer  growths. 


Table  IX. — Compartsion  op  Growth  of  Branches  Forming  Many  and 
Few  Blossom  Buds  at  Defoliated  Nodes. 


Type 

Number 

branches 

Average  number  buds 

Percentage 
of  total 
growth  ; 
at 

defoliation! 

Average 

total 

length 

“On”  node|“Off”  node 

Many  buds  at  defoliated  nodes.. 
No  buds  at  defoliated  nodes 

31 

37 

2.11  | 1.22 

1.32  1 0.0 

86.4 

68.5 

59.7  cm. 
! 72.5 

Effect  of  Defoliation  Upon  Blossom  Bud 


15 


Summary- 

Some  of  the  results  secured  in  the  course  of  the  defoliation 
studies  follow : 

1.  Removal  of  all  or  a part  of  the  leaf  blade  had  a marked 
inhibiting  effect  upon  blossom  bud  formation  if  done  early  in 
the  season.  Buds  which  formed  at  defoliated  nodes  were 
noticeably  smaller  than  the  average. 

2.  When  alternate  leaves  were  removed  the  number  of 
buds  formed  at  undefoliated  nodes  was  somewhat  reduced. 
While  the  effect  of  defoliation  was  largely  localized  at  the 
node  treated,  it  would  appear  from  this  that  there  was  also  a 
mass  or  cumulative  influence  upon  bud  formation.  This  is 
also  indicated  by  the  formation  of  buds  at  defoliated  nodes 
during  the  second  period  of  differentiation. 

3.  Cutting  the  midribs  transversely  near  the  base  of  the 
blade  had  a marked  inhibiting  influence  upon  bud  develop- 
ment, Fig  5,  G. 

4.  Removal  of  different  quantitative  fractions  of  the  blade 
had  a marked  direct  quantitative  effect  upon  blossom  bud  for- 
mation. 

5.  Removing  one-half  of  the  leaf  blade  by  a cut  parallel  to 
the  midrib  reduced  bud  development  to.  about  the  same  de- 
gree as  removing  half  of  the  leaf  by  cutting  completely  across 
it  transversely. 

6.  The  spurs  developing  from  the  defoliated  nodes  are 
much  smaller  and  shorter  than  from  the  other  nodes.  It  is 
suggested  that  the  difference  in  nitrogen  reserve  is  a large 
factor  in  giving  this  condition. 


30-7 

/75's/ljLS 


. ' r . / r. . 


Research  Bulletin  57  October,  1923 

^SHTBFJLUSCSS 

> iNQV  ^ 3 1923 

The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 

H.  H.  Sommer  and  B.  J.  Smit 


Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
of  the 

University  of  Wisconsin 
Madison 


Contents 


Page 


Occurrence  and  prevalence  of  fishiness  . 1 

Review  of  the  literature  2 

Summary  of  the  historical  review  8 

General  plan  of  the  experimental  work 9 

A study  of  the  conditions  that  favor  fishiness  9 

Experimental  .. 11-12 

Review  of  literature  13 

Acidity  and  fishiness  13* 

Salt  and  fishiness  „ 14 

Overworking  and  fishiness  IS 

Metals  and  fishiness  16 

Pasteurization  and  fishiness  16 

Summary  of  experiments  and  literature  ..^ 17 

A study  of  the  cause  of  fishiness  in  storage  butter  .....  17 

Amount  of  lecithin  in  dairy  products  18 

A study  of  the  conditions  under  which  lecithin  yields 

trimethylamine  19 

Trimethylamine  determination  20 

Preparation  of  lecithin  21 

Experimental  ~. — 21 

Trimethylamine  and  fishiness  ......; 24 

Trimethylamine  in  butter  26 

Fishiness  in  lecithin-added  butter  27 

Biological  agencies  and  fishiness  I....... 29 

Decomposition  of  lecithin  by  bacteria  30 

The  production  of  trimethylamine  from  skimmilk  and 

casein  . 31 

The  production  of  trimethylamine  from  hydrolyzed  and  un-  M 

hydrolyzed  lecithin  34 

General  discussion . 38 

The  role  of  the  various  factors  concerned  in  the  development 

of  fishiness  40 

Summary  45 

Bibliography  ... 47 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 

H.  H.  Sommer  and  B.  J.  Smit* 

WHEN  BUTTER  is  fishy,  a distinct  fish  odor  and  flavor  can  be 
detected  which  is  usually  described  as  resembling  that  of  mack- 
erel, salmon,  or  herring.  Fishiness  in  butter  is  detected  by  even 
the  most  casual  consumer. 

Butter  is  scored  mainly  on  flavor,  and  when  an  off-flavor  as  offensive  as  a 
fishy  flavor  is  present,  the  score  is  at  once  reduced  from  “extra”  to  a 
“second”  or  a “poor  second”  with  an  accompanying  reduction  in  the  price. 
This  reduction  may  range  from  3 to  5 cents  per  pound  so  that  on  a 1,000 
pound  churning  the  loss  may  amount  to  something  between  thirty  and  fifty 
dollars. 

Occurrence  and  Prevalence  of  Fishiness 

Fishiness  is  hardly  ever  found  in  fresh  or  comparatively  fresh  butter. 
It  is  primarily  a storage  defect,  occurring  in  cold  storage  and  export  butter. 
On  the  basis  of  the  score  of  the  fresh  butter  it  is  impossible  to  predict 
which  samples  will  become  fishy,  as  some  of  the  highest  scoring  fresh 
butter  may  become  fishy  during  storage.  It  may  occur  at  temperatures 
as  low  as  — 15°  F.,  or  at  times  it  appears  after  the  butter  is  taken  out  of 
storage  and  is  in  the  consumers’  hands. 

— — How  to  Prevent  Fishiness  

1.  Avoid  making  butter  from  high  acid  cream.  Use  swdet  cream 
or  reduce  the  acidity  of  the  cream  by  neutralizing. 

2.  Avoid  excessive  salting. 

3.  Avoid  overworking. 

4.  Do  not  allow  the  cream,  especially  sour  cream,  to  come  into 
contact  with  poorly  tinned  iron  or  copper  utensils. 

5.  Pasteurize  the  cream  preferably  at  145  °F.  for  30  minutes. 


Fishiness  is  found  in  butter  exported  from  Australia,  New  Zealand,  and 
South  Africa,  and  it  is  known  to  occur  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States. 
There  are  creameries  where  the  fishy  flavor  appears  year  after  year ; among 
these  are  some  that  are  regarded  as  using  the  most  approved  machinery  and 
methods,  and  are  managed  by  competent  butter  makers. 

In  Australia  the  prevalence  of  fishiness  has  been  especially  marked  since 
a large  part  of  the  output  is  exported  over  a long  distance.  It  has  been 

* This  experimental  work  was  done  by  B.  J.  Smit  under  the  direction  of 
H.  H.  Sommer.  It  was  submitted  by  Mr.  Smit  in  fulfillment  of  the  thesis  re- 
quirements for  the  degree  of  Ph.D.  from  the  University  of  Wisconsin.  The 
manuscript  was  prepared  by  Mr.  Sommer. 


2 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


estimated  that  this  off -flavor  in  export  butter  has  reduced  the  value  of  this 
colonial  butter  on  the  English  market  by  thousands  of  dollars  annually, 
causing  losses  that  amount  for  a period  of  ten  years  to  over  $5,000,000. 
On  this  account  this  flavor  is  known  in  Australia  as  “Australia’s  costly 
taint.”  Similarly  the  South  African  export  butter  is  suffering  losses  on 
the  English  market. 

About  75  per  cent  of  the  butter  that  deteriorates  markedly  during  storage 
shows  signs  of  fishiness;  it  is  the  most  common  of  the  storage  flavors. 
Some  writers  are  of  the  opinion  that  fishy  flavor  causes  greater  losses  in 
butter  than  any  other  one  defect. 

Review  of  the  Literature 

The  first  reference  to  this  class  of  flavors  in  butter  is  that  of  Storch 
( 1890)  ^ He  attributes  “oily,”  “fishy,”  and  bitter  flavors  to  the  practice  of 
ripening  cream  before  churning.  In  oily  butter  Storch  always  found  large 
numbers  of  certain  bacteria  present  which  were  absent  in  non-oily  butter. 
However,  he  could  not  produce  oily  butter  by  inoculation  with  cultures  of 
these  organisms. 

Kirchner  ( 1891 ) 2 notes  the  presence  of  fishy  and  oily  flavors  in  old 
butter,  and  attributes  them  partly  to  the  feeding  of  oil  cakes  and  partly 
to  abnormal  decomposition  of  the  butter  fat  by  bacteria  that  entered  the 
cream  through  faulty  handling. 

Weigmann  (1891,  1892)  3,  4 attributed  this  class  of  flavors  to  iron  dis- 
solved in  the  cream  from  poorly  tinned  containers.  He  produced  this  class 
of  flavors  by  adding  small  amounts  of  iron  lactate  to  sour  cream. 

Oliver  ( 1894)  6 attributed  fishiness  in  butter  to  the  absorption  of  the  odor 
from  fish  kept  near  it. 

O’Callaghan  ( 1899)  6 believes  that  Oidium  lactis  is  the  cause. 

duRoi  ( 1900)  7 attributes  it  to  the  litter  collected  from  the  woods. 

Harding,  Rogers,  and  Smith  ( 1900)  8 report  a highly  disagreeable  fishy 
flavor  in  milk  from  a healthy  cow.  Inoculating  other  milk  with  bacteria 
from  the  fishy  milk  failed  to  reproduce  fishy  milk. 

Piffard  ( 1901 ) 9 suggested  the  ability  of  the  salt  to  absorb  odors  and 
flavors  as  an  occasional  cause  of  fishiness.  He  also  suggested  that  the  un- 
desirable, often  fishy  odor  of  water  to  which  the  cows  have  access,  might 
be  imparted  to  the  milk  and  cream.  No  experimental  data  are  given. 

Harrison  ( 1901 ) 10  and  his  staff  in  their  study  of  the  effect  of  bacteria 
commonly  found  in  milk  on  the  flavor  of  butter,  separated  some  twenty  dif- 
ferent species,  made  starters,  and  inoculated  pasteurized  cream  with  them. 
Among  other  flavors  they  were  able  to  obtain  a fishy  flavor.  Thus  Harrison 
attributes  the  development  of  fishiness  to  the  presence  and  growth  of  unde- 
sirable bacteria  in  the  cream. 

O’Callaghan  (1901)^  reports  cases  of  fishiness  in  fresh  butter  made  from 
sour  cream.  Examination  of  the  butter  showed  the  presence  of  large 
numbers  of  Oidium  lactis  spores.  He  also  found  during  two  years  obser- 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


3 


vation  that,  of  a large  number  of  fishy  samples  of  butter  examined,  all 
contained  Oidium  lactis.  As  a remedy  he  advocates  pasteurization  at  168° 

F.  or  above. 

Willoughby  (1903)  12  states  that  in  Norway  where  the  cows  are  fed  to  a 
large  extent  on  fish  and  fish  meal,  the  milk  may  acquire  a fishy  flavor  if 
the  fish  used  are  not  entirely  fresh. 

O’Callaghan  (1904)13  gives  the  cause  of  fishy  butter  as  Oidium  lactis 
working  jointly  with  the  ordinary  organisms  that  cause  the  souring  of  milk. 

Gray  and  McKay  ( 1906)  14  found  a pronounced  fishy  flavor  in  butter 
made  from  old  cream  and  salted  high.  High  salting  did  not  cause  a fishy 
flavor  in  butter  made  from  sweet  cream. 

O’Callaghan  (1907)  l5  states  that  in  all  cases  where  butter  has  been  re- 
ported on  as  fishy  on  its  arrival  in  London,  the  bacteriological  records 
show  that  the  butter  from  the  factory  has  been  marked  as  containing  numer- 
ours  spores  of  Oidium  lactis.  He  also  states  that  the  salt  cannot  be  the 
cause  of  fishiness  because  many  a consignment  of  unsalted  butter  has  turned 
out  fishy  in  London. 

Kirchner  (1907)  16  thinks  that  tallowy  and  fishy  butter  result  from  the 
further  decomposition  of  oily  butter,  and  that  these  defects  are  produced 
by  acid  forming  bacteria  and  molds  or  by  fat  splitting  enzymes  of  the 
milk.  He  thinks  that  pasteurization,  the  use  of  a pure  culture,  and  the 
careful  handling  of  the  milk  are  sure  remedies. 

Sommerfeld  ( 1909)  17  contends  that  most  of  the  butter  faults  have  their 
origin  in  the  souring  of  cream.  The  oily  taste  of  butter,  this  writer  has 
found,  is  often  accompanied  by  a fishy  taste.  He  states  that  the  fishy  taste 
apparently  is  due  to  the  formation  of  trimethylamine.  According  to  his 
experience,  fishy  flavor  results  when  the  cattle  graze  on  meadows  that  are 
frequently  flooded,  and  also  when  the  butter  salt  is  somewhat  high  in 
magnesium  salts. 

Rogers  (1909)  lg  is  not  of  the  opinion  that  trimethylamine  is  the  imme- 
diate cause  of  fishiness,  nor  that  Oidium  lactis  is  the  general  cause.  He 
states  that  many  lots  of  fishy  butter  have  been  made  in  which  Oidium  lactis 
has  been  known  to  be  absent  both  in  the  butter  and  the  cream.  Bacteriologi- 
cal inoculations  with  bacteria  from  creameries  where  fishy  butter  was  pro- 
duced failed  to  produce  fishy  cream.  Bacteriological  examinations  of  the 
milk  from  farms  where  fishy  butter  could  be  made  revealed  no  unusual 
varieties  of  bacteria  connected  with  the  production  of  the  off -flavor,  neither 
did  a botanical  survey  of  the  farms  as  to  water  supply  and  the  flora  of  the 
grass  in  the  pastures  reveal  any  clue. 

Rogers,  however,  found  that  in  all  cases  where  butter  became  fishy,  it 
had  been  made  from  cream  high  in  acid,  either  developed  naturally  or 
added  artificially,  though  high  acid  cream  did  not  develop  fishiness  uni- 
formly. He  further  finds  that  overworking  of  butter  produced  fishiness 
with  a reasonable  degree  of  certainty.  In  such  butter  the  oxygen  content 
decreased  materially  during  storage.  He  also  shows  that  butter  made  from 
sweet  cream  does  not  become  fishy,  and  that  pasteurized  cream  with  starter 


4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


added  but  without  ripening,  seldom,  if  ever,  becomes  fishy.  He  offers  the 
opinion  that  the  fishy  flavor  is  caused  by  a slow  spontaneous,  chemical 
change  to  which  acid  is  essential  and  which  is  flavored  by  the  presence  of 
small  amounts  of  oxygen. 

Rahn,  Brown,  and  Smith  ( 1909)  19  think  that,  since  butter  made  from 
high  acid  cream  frequently  shows  no  trace  of  fishiness,  the  development 
of  the  flavor  cannot  be  explained  by  Rogers’  chemical  theory  alone,  because 
they  think  in  all  sour  cream  butters  all  the  factors  concerned  are  present 
and  would  therefore  expect  fishiness  to  appear  uniformly  in  all  such 
butters. 

Thomson  (1911,  1913)  20,  21  sums  up  his  work  and  observations  on  fishi- 
ness in  butter  over  a period  of  ten  years  (1898-1908)  as  follows: — 

Fishiness  was  found  to  be  very  pronounced  in  butter  manufactured  in 
districts  where  the  herbage  was  rank  and  immature.  In  districts  where 
the  herbage  was  well  matured  only  a faint  indication  of  fishiness  was 
found. 

Nearly  all  the  fishy  butter  was  manufactured  from  cream  ripened  to  a 
high  degree  of  acidity. 

All  the  butter  was  found  to  be  free  from  fishiness  before  refrigeration. 

The  fishy  flavor  appeared  to  be  of  equal  strength  throughout  the  affected 
butter. 

Butter  made  from  one  churning,  a portion  of  which  was  brined  and  dry 
salted,  was  unaffected  with  fishiness  after  refrigeration,  while  the  other 
portion,  that  was  dry  salted  only,  developed  a fishy  flavor. 

Preservatives  appeared  to  check  fishiness. 

Cultivations  made  from  very  fishy  butter  did  not  give  colonies  productive 
of  fishiness. 

Butter  stored  at  the  temperature  of  25  to  32°  F.  was  very  much  more 
fishy  in  flavor  than  a second  piece  of  the  same  butter  stored  at  5°  F. 

A fishy  flavor  will  develop  in  both  salted  and  unsalted  butter,  but  more 
commonly  in  the  salted  product. 

A high  degree  of  bacterial  purity  in  the  products  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  butter  did  not  prevent  the  butter  from  developing  a strong  fishy'  flavor. 

Although  fishiness  is  much  less  prevalent  in  pasteurized  butter,  the  flavor 
may  be  found  in  it  in  a very  pronounced  form. 

Butters  containing  from  14  to  16  per  cent  moisture  appeared  to  be  more 
susceptible  to  the  taint. 

Fishiness  was  pronounced  in  butter  made  from  cream  containing  colostrum. 

The  writer  concludes  that  fishiness  in  butter  is  largely  a chemical  change 
and  that  the  production  of  the  flavor  is  favored  by  a high  degree  of  acidity 
and  salt  and  a temperature  of  storage  between  30  and  40°  F. 

Weigmann  (1911)  00  attributes  the  fishy  flavor  to  the  abnormal  working  of 
butter  and  also  to  the  use  of  salt  high  in  magnesium. 

Davis  (1911,  1912)  23,  24  found  that  the  samples  of  butter  which  scored 
fishy  were  made  from  cream  high  in  acidity  and  salted  over  two  and  one- 
half  per  cent. 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


5 


Rogers,  Thompson  and  Kiethley  ( 1912)  25  demonstrated  more  conclusively 
still  the  freedom  from  fishiness  in  butter  made  from  unripened  cream  and 
the  tendency  of  butter  made  from  ripened  raw  or  pasteurized  cream  to 
become  fishy  in  storage. 

Reakes,  Cuddie  and  Reid  ( 1912)  2Q  found  no  significant  differences  in  the 
bacterial  flora  of  fishy  and  high  grade  butter.  Plugs  of  fishy  butter  put 
into  high  grade  butter  failed  to  cause  fishiness,  and  plugs  of  high  quality 
butter  inserted  into  tubs  of  fishy  butter  retained  their  desirable  flavor. 
These  investigators  concur  with  Rogerslg  in  his  chemical  decomposition 
theory. 

O’Callaghan  ( 1912) 27  maintains  that  Oidium  lactis  working  in  conjunction 
with  the  ordinary  lactic  acid  producing  bacteria  is  the  real  cause  of  fishiness 
in  butter. 

Steinhoff  ( 1913 ) 2g  states  that  fishy  flavor  is  one  of  the  most  common 
flavors  in,  storage  butter.  He  cites  one  case  of  a large  creamery  turning 
out  uniformly  fine  butter  when  fresh,  but  when  placed  in  storage  this 
butter  developed  fishiness  three  to  five  years  in  succession. 

Rogers,  Berg,  Potteiger  and  Davis  (1913)og  showed  that  iron  and  copper 
salts  have  a decided  effect  in  causing  the  development  of  fishiness.  They 
showed  that  enough  iron  and  copper  could  be  absorbed  by  the  sour  cream 
from  rusty  cans  and  exposed  copper  linings  of  vats  to  cause  a marked 
change  in  the  flavor  of  the  butter. 

Orla-Jensen  ( 1912)  3Q  states  that  certain  yeasts  can  give  butter  a fishy 
flavor. 

Rogers  ( 1914)  31  points  out  that  an  oily  and  metallic  flavor  may  precede 
the  fishy  flavor.  He  excludes  the  theory  of  the  bacterial  origin  of  fishiness, 
because  of  the  high  salt  concentration  and  the  low  temperatures  at  which  the 
flavor  develops,  and  because  preservatives  did  not  prevent  it  in  his  work. 
He  excludes  enzymes  as  a possible  cause  on  the  grounds  that  high  pasteur- 
izing temperatures  do  not  necessarily  prevent  fishiness. 

Synder31  thinks  that  oversalting  develops  the  fishy  flavor  in  butter. 

Klein  ( 1914)  33  thinks  that  the  class  of  oily  flavors  in  butter  results  from 
the  action  of  bacteria. 

Ernst  (1914)34  believes  that  milk  may  become  fishy  from  feeding  fish 
meal  to  the  cows  and  through  pasturing  cows  on  marshy  fields  which  have 
been  inundated. 

Rogers  ( 1914)  s5  states  that  fishiness  rarely  occurs  in  unsalted  butter, 
and  that  the  salt  possibly  furnishes  certain  conditions  which  are  essential 
to  the  development  of  the  flavor.  He  was  unable  to  produce  fishiness  under 
winter  conditions. 

Lewkowitsch  ( 1914) 36  reports  that  fishy  butter  is  met  with  in  Norway, 
being  obtained  from  the  milk  of  cows  fed  on  fishmeal. 

Hunziker  (1915) 37  has  found  that  extremely  "high  pasteurizing  tempera- 
tures, such  as  185°  F.  and  higher,  when  used  on  sour  cream,  may  cause 
poor  butter  with  a disagreeable  oily  taste  suggestive  of  fishiness.  He 
found  this  especially  true  in  summer  when  the  cows  are  on  green  pasture. 


6 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  5 7 


Fleischmann  ( 1915) 3Q  states  that  fishy  and  oily  flavors  appear  only  in 
sour  cream  butter,  and  that  they  are  caused  by  bacteria. 

Dyer  ( 1916)  39  concludes  that  fishiness  is  caused  by  the  slow  oxidation 
of  one  or  more  of  the  non- fatty  constituents  of  butter.  He  found  that  the 
decrease  in  the  oxygen  in  the  butter  and  the  development  of  fishiness  were 
parallel  and  were  directly  proportional  to  the  quantity  of  acid  present. 

O’Callaghan  ( 1916) 40  still  maintains  that  Oidium  lactis  is  the  responsible 
factor  and  that  pasteurization  and  disinfection  of  creameries,  stables,  etc., 
are  the  only  remedies. 

O’ Callaghan  (1916)41  has  found  that  75  per  cent  of  the  butters  that 
deteriorate  to  any  extent  show  an  advanced  fishy  flavor  at  the  end  of  about 
3 months  in  storage.  All  such  butter  had  been  made  from  unpasteurized 
cream.  He  cites  an  instance  where  pasteurized  and  unpasteurized  butter 
was  stored  by  a certain  company,  and  only  the  unpasteurized  butter  became 
fishy. 

Washburn  and  Dahlberg  (1917)  42  found  that  salt  hastened  the  deteriora- 
tion of  butter  at  low  temperatures  of  storage,  that  salted  butter  was  more 
likely  to  turn  fishy  during  storage  than  unsalted  butter,  and  that  there 
appeared  to  be  a tendency  toward  a progressive  development  of  the  flavor 
through  metallic  to  oily  and  finally  to  the  fishy  flavor. 

Hammer  (1917)  43  reports  the  isolation  of  an  organism  from  a can  of 
fishy  evaporated  milk.  He  was  able  to  reproduce  the  fishy  flavor  in  milk, 
cream,  and  in  evaporated  milk,  but  he  was  unable  to  produce  it  in  butter 
by  direct  inoculation  or  by  inoculating  the  cream  before  churning.  He  con- 
cludes, that  the  organism  is  not  of  direct  importance  in  the  development  of 
fishiness  in  butter  since  the  organism  is  unable  to  grow  in  sour  cream 
butter  or  in  salted  sweet  cream  butter. 

Klein  (1917)  44  thinks  that  a fishy  taste  in  milk  may  result  from  contact 
with  rusty  vessels  or  from  imperfect  rinsing  of  soap  powders  from  the 
vessels.  He  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  flavor  in  the  milk  is  not  due  to  feed 
such  as  fishmeal  or  marshy  pastures.. 

Ericson  ( 1918)  45  finds  that  the  fishy  flavor  is  more  prevalent  in  butter 
made  from  ripened  cream  than  in  sweet  cream  butter.  He  believes,  how- 
ever, that  the  starter  is  not  the  cause  if  it  is  used  correctly. 

Washburn  and  Holmes  ( 1918)  46  did  not  find  any  fishy  butter  when  it 
was  made  from  cream  pasteurized  sweet  and  starter  worked  directly  into 
the  butter. 

Bouska  and  Washburn  ( 1918) 47  have  experienced  that  cream  used  in 
buttermaking  must  not  be  very  sour  otherwise  the  butter  will  often  become 
fishy  in  storage. 

Rogers  (1919)4S  says  that  in  over  5,000,000  pounds  of  Navy  butter  made 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Dairy  Division  from  sweet  cream  of  good 
quality,  pasteurized  and  churned  sweet  without  starter,  not  a single  pound 
developed  fishiness  in  six  to  eight  months  storage. 

Washburn  ( 1919) 4n  states  that  the  most  annoying  problems  of  the  butter 
industry  are  the  metallic  and  fishy  flavors.  He  states  that  fishiness  is  related 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


7 


to  old  and  sour  cream  and  to  rusty  cans,  but  that  the  exact  cause  is  not 
known. 

Supplee  (1919) 50  was  able  to  extract  trimethylamine  from  fishy  butter; 
and  by  working  trimethylamine  salts  of  fatty  acids  into  normal  butter  in 
small  amounts  he  was  able  to  produce  the  fishy  flavor.  He  thus  considers 
trimethylamine  as  the  real  cause,  and  lecithin,  which  he  was  able  to  isolate 
from  butter,  as  the  source  of  the  trimethylamine.  He  found  fishiness  most 
frequently  in  salted  butter  made  from  ripened  or  artificially  acidified  cream. 
He  found  fishiness  less  prevalent  in  the  pasteurized  samples,  and  concludes 
from  this  that  a biological  factor  is  the  fundamental  cause. 

Hunziker  ( 1920)  5l  agrees  with  the  findings  of  Rogers  and  Dyer,  that 
high  acid  cream,  overworking  and  the  presence  of  metallic  catalyzers  are 
important  factors  in  the  development  of  fishiness. 

McKay  (1920)52  cites  an  instance  to  show  that  butter  made  from  pasteur- 
ized and  neutralized  cream  can  be  kept  two  years  without  any  signs  of  fishi- 
ness, while  unpasteurized  and  unneutralized  cream  butter  became  fishy.  He 
is  of  the  opinion  that  small  hand  separators  not  properly  cleaned  during 
extremely  hot  weather  may  be  responsible  for  the  fishy  flavor. 

Brown  ( 1920)  5g  advocates  the  pasteurization  and  neutralization  of  the 
cream  to  eradicate  fishiness  in  butter.  He  cites  an  instance  of  a factory 
storing  two  consignments  of  butter,  one  was  pasteurized,  and  one  unpas- 
teurized. The  unpasteurized  butter  became  fishy  after  4 to  5 months, 
while  the  pasteurized  butter  showed  no  trace  of  the  flavor. 

McKay  (1920  ) 54  states  that  he  receives  reports  reading  essentially  as 
follows : — “Made  two  churnings  of  butter  from  the  same  vat  of  cream : 
one  churning  has  developed  fishiness,  the  other  churning  is  all  right.” 
McKay  concludes  that  the  difference  cannot  be  attributed  to  organisms, 
but  to  the  method  of  manufacture.  He  attributes  it  to  overworking. 

Cusick  ( 1920)  55  studied  the  phosphorus  compounds  in  cream  and  butter. 
He  showed  that  pasteurizing  acid  cream  caused  a lower  phosphorus  content 
in  the  butter;  in  sweet  cream,  pasteurization  had  no  such  effect.  He  also 
showed  that  the  organic  phosphorus,  which  includes  lecithin,  is  changed  to 
inorganic  phosphorus  during  storage,  and  that  this  change  is  more  rapid 
in  salted  than  in  unsalted  butter.  He  states  that  in  the  development  of 
fishiness  there  is  an  appreciable  loss  of  organic  phosphorus^  (lecithin).  He 
concludes  that  the  breaking  down  of  lecithin  through  the  solvent  action 
of  salt  water  and  lactic  acid,  gives  off  trimethylamine,  which  causes  the 
fishy  flavor. 

Brown,  Smith  and  Ruehle  (1920)56  found  that  fishiness  develops  more 
readily  in  unpasteurized  butter,  and  conclude  from  that,  that  a biological 
agent  is  concerned  in  the  development  of  fishiness.  They  were  unable,  how- 
ever, to  isolate  any  bacteria  directly  responsible  for  the  off  flavor. 

Cusick  (1920)57  was  able  to  produce  fishy  butter  from  cream  inoculated 
with  pure  cultures  of  Bad.  ichthyosmius.  He  found  no  fishiness  in  the 
unsalted  inoculated  samples.  During  storage  the  bacteria  decreased  rapidly 
in  both  the  salted  and  unsalted  samples,  but  in  the  salted  samples  that 


8 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  5 7 


were  fishy  the  decrease  was  only  gradual.  Cusick  thinks  that  lecithin  is 
broken  down  to  a form  that  is  used  as  a pabulum  by  bacteria. 

Hamilton  ( 1921 ) 58  attributes  fishiness  in  butter  to  a variation  in  the 
cold  storage  temperatures  from  day  to  day. 

Hardy  ( 1921 ) 59  regards  pasteurization  as  the  most  effective  preventive 
of  fishiness. 

McKay  and  Larsen  ( 1922)  60  state  that  fishy  flavor  in  butter  causes 
greater  losses  in  butter  than  any  other  one  defect.  They  sfate  that  butter 
from  high  acid  cream  invariably  becomes  fishy  in  storage,  and  recommend 
partial  neutralization  of  sour  cream. 

Fryhofer  (1922)gl  believes  that  fishy  flavor  has  its  origin  in  various 
factors  or  a combination  of  factors.  One  of  the  factors  on  which  there  is 
general  agreement  is  high  acid. 

Summary  of  the  Historical  Review 

A review  of  the  literature  reveals  the  fact  that  there  are  a number  of 
theories,  hypotheses  and  opinions  advanced  to  explain  the  occurrence  and 
development  of  the  fishy  flavor  in  butter.  Many  of  these  opinions  are  not 
backed  by  any  definite  and  exact  experimental  evidence. 

A number  of  miscellaneous  causes  have  been  suggested  in  the  literature. 
A number  of  writers  have  attributed  the  fishy  flavor  to  the  feed,  e.  g. 
oil  cakes  (Kirchner2),  fish  meal  (Willoughby  12,  Ernst34,  Lewkowitsch36), 
marshy  pastures  (Ernstg4,  Sommerfeld17).  Other  causes  that  are 
mentioned  are : — The  absorption  of  the  odor  from  fish  stored  near  the 
butter  (01iver5)  ; derived  from  litter  collected  from  the  woods  (duRoi7)  ; 
derived  from  the  salt  which  may  have  absorbed  the  odor  (Piffard9)  ; de- 
rived from  stagnant  drinking  water  having  a fishy  odor  (Piffard9)  ; result- 
ing from  the  imperfect  rinsing  of  soap  powders  from  the  vessels 
(Klein  ).  These  suggested  causes  cannot  be  considered  as  general  causes, 
and  in  most  cases  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  can  cause  fishiness  even  in 
specific  instances. 

The  two  main  theories  for  the  development  of  fishiness  are,  first,  that 
it  is  caused  by  biological  agencies,  second,  that  its  cause  is  purely  chemical. 

The  biological  agencies  that  are  mentioned  as  causes  are  yeasts,  Oidium 
lactis,  bacteria,  and  bacterial  enzymes.  (For  a more  detailed  summary  see 
page  29  “Biological  Agencies  and  Fishiness”). 

The  theory  that  biological  agencies  are  the  cause  of  fishiness  is  not  by  any 
means  free  from  objections.  The  main  objections  that  are  raised  against 
the  theory  are : ( 1 ) Inoculation  experiments  with  the  organisms  supposed 
to  cause  fishiness  have  in  general  been  unsuccessful ; (2)  Pasteurization 
does  not  prevent  fishiness  absolutely;  (3)  Fishiness  is  favored  by  a high 
salt  content,  and  develops  at  low  temperatures,  conditions  which  would 
inhibit  the  activity  of  microrganisms. 

Largely  because  of  these  objections  some  of  the  investigators  (Rogers  18, 
Thomson  <>0,  21,  Reakes,  Cuddie  and  Reid  26,  Dyer  39,  hold  the  theory  that 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


9 


fishiness  in  butter  is  the  result  of  a spontaneous  chemical  change.  The 
main  objection  to  this  theory  and  in  favor  of  the  biological  theory  is  that 
pasteurization  reduces  the  prevalence  of  fishiness  even  if  it  does  not  eliminate 
the  malady  entirely.  Thus  the  controversy  between  these  two  schools  of 
thought  must  be  considered  unsettled. 

While  there  is  no  agreement  on  the  agency  that  causes  fishiness,  there  is 
quite  general  agreement  on  the  factors  that  favor  the  development  of 
fishiness.  A high  acidity  in  the  cream  is  one  of  the  factors  on  which  there 
is  general  agreement.  Other  factors  that  are  well  supported  by  experi- 
mental evidence  are  high  salt,  overworking,  and  the  presence  of  the  salts 
of  metals  such  as  iron  and  copper.  The  evidence  presented  also  shows  that 
pasteurization  of  the  cream  helps  to  eliminate  fishiness. 

The  identity  of  the  fishy  substance  in  the  butter  has  not  been  established 
beyond  all  doubt.  The  most  definite  theory  is  that  the  fishy  substance  is 
trimethylamine  and  it  is  formed  from  lecithin.  Rogersl8  objects  to  this 
theory  on  the  basis  of  an  experiment  in  which  he  obtained  the  fishy  flavor 
in  the  distillate  from  fishy  butter  acidified  with  sulphuric  acid,  which,  he 
concludes,  eliminates  basic  substances,  such  as  trimethylamine,  from  con- 
sideration. 

Thus  the  identity  of  the  fishy  substance  and  the  agencies  that  produce 
it  must  still  be  considered  unsettled  questions. 

General  Plan  of  the  Experimental  Work 

In  our  attempt  to  determine  the  origin  and  the  cause  of  the  fishy  flavor 
in  butter  the  following*  plan  of  procedure  was  followed : 

1.  By  means  of  experiments  and  a critical  review  of  the  literature  deter- 
mine the  factors  and  conditions  that  favor  the  development  of  fishiness. 

2.  On  the  assumption  that  lecithin  is  the  mother  substance  of  the  fishy 
flavor,  determine  the  conditions  under  which  lecithin  will  yield  trime- 
thylamine. If  lecithin  is  the  mother  substance  of  the  fishy  flavor,  then 
the  conditions  that  favor  the  development  of  fishiness  must  also  cause 
the  greatest  yield  of  trimethylamine. 

3.  Isolate  trimethylamine  from  fishy  butter. 

4.  On  the  assumption  that  lecithin  is  the  mother  substance  determine 
whether  butter  to  which  lecithin  has  been  added  will  become  fishy  more 
readily  than  ordinary  butter. 

5.  From  the  study  of  the  decomposition  of  lecithin  determine  whether  the 
action  is  chemical,  bacteriological  or  enzymatic. 

A Study  of  the  Conditions  that  Favor  Fishiness 

In  order  to  determine  the  conditions  that  favor  the  development  of  fishi- 
ness in  butter,  the  various  factors  suggested  in  the  literature  were  studied 
as  indicated  in  the  following  outline : 

Sweet  cream,  400  pounds,  was  divided  into  ten  lots  of  40  pounds  each  as 
follows : 


10 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


Lot  1 — Raw,  unripened. 

Lot  2 — Raw,  naturally  ripened,  acidity  0.4%. 

Lot  3 — Raw,  naturally  ripened,  acidity  0.6%. 

Lot  4 — Raw,  naturally  ripened,  acidity  0.6%  neutralized  to  0.25%. 

Lot  5 — Pasteurized,  unripened.  , 

Lot  6 — Pasteurized,  starter  ripened,  acidity  0.4%. 

Lot  7 — Pasteurized,  starter  ripened,  acidity  0.6%. 

Lot  8 — Pasteurized,  starter  ripened,  acidity  0.6%  neutralized  to  0.25%. 

Lot  9 — Pasteurized  after  natural  ripening  to  0.4%  acidity. 

Lot  10 — Pasteurized  after  natural  ripening  to  0.6%  acidity. 

Each  of  the  ten  lots  of  cream  was  prepared  and  handled  so  as  to  con- 
form to  the  conditions  as  stated  in  the  above  outline.  The  ripening  was 
done  by  keeping  the  cream  at  a temperature  of  70°  F.  until  the  desired 
acidity  was  reached.  In  the  starter  ripening  a good  freshly  prepared 
starter  was  used.  In  neutralizing  lots  four  and  eight  sodium  bicarbonate 
was  used. 

The  churning  of  the  cream  was  done  in  an  earthenware  hand  churn,  after 
the  cream  had  been  cooled  down  to  40°  F.  It  was  churned  to  the  granular 
size,  the  buttermilk  drawn  off  and  the  butter  washed  with  well  water  pre- 
viously cooled  to  40°  F.  The  butter  was  then  worked  in  the  churn  with 
a ladle  until  the  excessive  moisture  had  been  worked  out. 

During  the  various  operations  of  ripening  and  churning,  the  cream  and 
butter  were  kept  out  of  contact  with  metallic  surfaces  as  much  as  possible. 
The  cans  used  were  new  and  well  tinned  with  no  exposed  iron  surface, 
the  churn  was  earthen  ware  and  glass  jars  were  used  for  storing  the  butter. 

The  butter  made  from  each  of  the  ten  lots  of  cream  was  divided  into 
seven  parts  and  treated  as  follows : 

Part  1 — Unsalted. 

Part  2 — Medium  salted,  1.5%  salt. 

Part  3 — Highly  salted,  3.0%  salt. 

Part  4— Highly  salted,  3.0%  salt,  plus  0.1%  ferric  oxide. 

Part  5 — Highly  salted,  3.0%  salt,  plus  0.1%  iron  lactate. 

Part  6 — Highly  salted,  3.0%  salt,  plus  0.1%  tin  lactate. 

Part  7 — Highly  salted,  3.0%  salt,  and  overworked. 

Each  of  these  seven  parts  prepared  from  each  of  the  ten  lots  of  cream 
was  divided  into  two  parts ; one  of  these  was  stored  as  — 10°  F.,  the  other 
was  stored  at  35  to  40°  F.  The  samples  were  scored  by  three  judges  at 
intervals  of  about  a month  and  the  different  flavors  carefully  noted.  The 
results  are  given  in  Tables  I and  II. 


TABLE  I.— FLAVORS  DEVELOPED  IN  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  BUTTER  AT  35  TO  40° 


tment  of  the  butter  Treatment  of  the  butter 

3.0%  salt  plus 
overworking 

Slightly  oily 
Slightly  oily 
Oily 

Oiiy  $ 

Slightly  fishy  K 

Oily  and  fishy  W 

Fish 

^ -a 

= *‘5B 
>i«q| 

> >> 
o 

Y FLj 

>>>>>. 

ooo 

Oily  < 

Oily  O 

Very  oily 

Oily  § 

Oily 

Very  oily  \jj 

UTTEE 

>> 

oo 

13 

> 

Slightly  oily 
Slightly  oily 
Tallowy 

Slightly  oily 
Slightly  oily 
Oily 

Oily 

Oily 

Very  oily  >-* 

3.0%  salt  plus 
0.1%  tin 
lactate 

Slightly  oily 
Slightly  oily 
Oily 

*I!0 

3.0%  salt  plus 
0.1  % iron 
lactate 

Oily 

Slightly  fishy 
Fishy 

Fishy 
Very  fishy 
Very  fishy 

Very  fishy 
Very  fishy 
Very  fishy 

Very  oily 
Fishy 

Fishy  & tallo’y 

Oily 

Very  oily 
Fishy 

Metallic  & oily 
Slightly  fishy 
Tallowy 

Oily 

Slightly  fishy 
Tallowy 

Metallic  & oily 
Oily 

Tallowy 

Very  metallic 
Metallic  & oily 
Tallowy 

Metallic  & oily 
Oily 

Tallowy 

3.0%  salt  plus 
0.1%  ferric 
oxide 

Metallic 
Metallic  & oily 
Slightly  fishy 

Slightly  fishy 
Fishy 
Fishy 

Slightly  fishy 
Fishy 
Fishy 

Oily 

Oily 

Tallowy 

Oily 

Oily 

Tallowy 

Oily 

Oily 

Tallowy 

Oily 

Oily 

Very  oily 

Oily 

Oily 

Oily  & tallowy 

Metallic 

Oily 

Oily 

Oily 

Oily 

Oily  & Tallowy 

3.0%  salt 

Slightly  oily 
Slightly  oily 
Oily 

Oily 

Oily 

Very  oily 

Very  oily 
Very  oily 

Slightly  fishy 

Slightly  oily 
Slightly  oily 
Oily 

Oily 

Oily 

Oily 

Slightly  oily 
Slightly  oily 
Oily 

Oily 

1.5%  salt 

Slightly  oily 
Slightly  oily 
Slightly  oily 

Slightly  oily 
Slightly  oily 
Slightly  oily 

Oily 

Oiiy 

Oily 

: : : 

c3 

<13 

u 

h 

Unsalted 

Months 

storage 

■<*<000 

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rtOOO 

rj<000 

00 

rj<«£>00 

^tocc 

■tfOOO 

n<cDoo 

Lot 

number 

- 

CO 

rj* 

ITS 

to 

CO 

03 

O 

TABLE  II —FLAVORS  DEVELOPED  IN  THE  EXPERIMENTAL  BUTTER  AT  10< 


12 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


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The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


13 


From  Tables  I and  II  we  can  make  the  following  observations: 

1.  Fishiness  appeared  earlier  and  more  often  in  the  samples  stored  at  the 
higher  temperature. 

2.  True  fishiness  was  found  practically  only  in  the  unpasteurized  samples 
(lots  1,  2,  3,  and  4). 

3.  Pasteurization  after  ripening  (lots  9 and  10)  seemed  to  be  more 
effective  in  preventing  fishiness  than  pasteurization  before  ripening  (lots 
5,  6,  7 and  8).  Lots  6 and  7,  pasteurized  and  then  ripened,  showed  fishiness 
in  the  samples  containing  3.0%  salt  and  iron  lactate,  while  the  corresponding 
lots,  lots  9 and  10,  pasteurized  after  ripening,  showed  no  signs  of  fishiness. 

4.  The  high  acid  samples,  lots  2 and  3 especially,  developed  fishiness 
most  rapidly. 

5.  None  of  the  unsalted  and  low  salted  samples  developed  fishiness. 

6.  Only  one  of  the  samples  where  acidity  and  salt  alone  were  active 
developed  a slight  fishy  flavor. 

7.  The  presence  of  iron  oxide  and  iron  lactate  combined  with  high  acid 
salt  caused  the  most  distinct  and  greatest  number  of  fishy  samples.  The 
iron  lactate  was  more  active  than  the  iron  oxide. 

8.  Tin  lactate  did  not  cause  fishiness. 

9.  Overworking  showed  a slight  tendency  to  aid  the  development  of 
fishiness. 

10.  Neutralization  to  a low  acidity  before  churning  was  effective  in  re- 
ducing fishiness.  Lots  4 and  8,  neutralized  to  0.25%  acid,  showed  less  fishi- 
ness than  the  corresponding  unneutralized  samples,  lots  3 and  7. 

Thus  the  results  of  these  experiments  clearly  show  that  high  acid,  high 
salt  and  oxidation  produced  by  overworking,  but  more  especially  by  the  aid 
of  catalyzers,  are  the  important  factors  in  the  development  of  fishiness. 
The  results  also  show  that  pasteurization  and  neutralization  are  effective 
means  of  checking  fishiness. 

Let  us  compare  these  results  and  conclusions  with  those  of  previous  in- 
vestigators, so  that  by  means  of  this  detailed  consideration  we  may  clearly 
establish  the  factors  and  practices  that  help  and  that  hinder  the  development 
of  fishiness. 


Acidity  and  Fishiness 

The  conclusion  that  a high  acidity  in  the  cream  favors  the  development 
of  fishiness  is  borne  out  by  the  work  of  the  following  investigators : 
Rogersl8,  Davis23,  24,  Rogers  et  al25,  Reakes,  Cuddie  and  Reid26,  Thomson 
2o»  2i»  Fleischmann38,  Dyer39,  Erickson45,  Bouska  and  Washburn47, 
Supplee50,  Hunziker5l,  McKay  52,  Brown  ,53,  Cusick  55,  and  others. 

The  importance  of  acidity  in  the  development  of  fishiness  is  clearly  indi- 
cated in  the  following  quotation  from  the  work  of  Rogers,  Thompson  and 
Kiethley25 : 

“In  a tabulation  of  the  examination  of  259  samples  of  experimental 
butter  from  cream  of  known  acidity,  of  137  samples  from  cream  having  an 


14 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  5 7 


acidity  below  0.3%,  only  two  or  1.5%  were  marked  ‘fishy/  while  of  122 
samples  having  an  acidity  of  0.3%  or  over,  sixty  or  49.2%  were  fishy.” 

A high  degree  of  acidity  in  cream  generally  shows  that  the  cream  is  also 
highly  fermented.  It  might  thus  be  thought  that  the  acidity  is  merely 
incidental  and  that  the  real  agency  causing  the  development  6f  the  fishy 
flavor  is  biological,  and  not  the  acid  per  se.  That  this  is  not  the  case  has 
been  clearly  demonstrated  by  Rogers  and  Graylg  by  comparing  the  flavor 
of  butter  made  from  sweet  cream  with  butter  made  from  another  portion 
of  the  same  cream  acidified  artificially.  Table  III  is  quoted  from  Rogers 
and  Gray.  (Rogers  & Gray  [18J  Table  X.) 


TABLE  III.-THE  EFFECT  OF  ARTIFICIALLY  ADDED  ACIDS  ON  THE 
FLAVOR  OF  BUTTER 


Acid  added 

Acidity  of 
cream 

Remarks  after  15  days 

None 

Per  Cent 
0.144 

Very  greasy 

Lactic 

0.216 

Very  greasy 

Lactic 

0.432 

Fishy  and  greasy 

None 

0.126 

Trifle  Oily 

Acetic 

0216 

Very  greasy,  rancid  and  fishy  odor 

Acetic 

0.350 

Very  fishy  and  greasy 

None 

0.126 

Clean  but  greasy 

Hydrochloric 

0.225 

Trifle  unclean  and  oily 

Hydrochloric 

0.450 

Very  fishy  and  greasy 

Salt  and  Fishiness 

Some  investigators  believe  that  salt  improves  the  general  keeping 
quality  of  butter.  Among  these  are:  McKay  and  Larsen60,  Fettig  62,  Rahn, 
Brown,  and  Smith19,  Larsen,  Lund  and  Millerg3,  Weigmann.,2,  Jensen30, 
KleinC4.  However,  at  lower  temperatures  other  investigators  have  shown 
that  salt  lowers  the  keeping  quality.  Investigators  offering  convincing  evi- 
dence on  this  point  are  Gray  and  McKay  14,  Hunziker,  Mills  and  Spitzer65, 
Kildee66,  Washburn  and  Dahlberg42.  From  a study  of  these  references  we 
can  conclude  that  salt  at  the  storage  temperatures  deteriorates  rather  than 
preserves  the  butter.  However,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  from  this 
conclusion  that  this  particular  deterioration,  the  development  of  fishiness, 
is  also  accelerated  by  salt.  There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  on  this 
point.  Some  investigators  have  found  fishiness  only  in  salted  butter,  while 
others  have  found  it  in  unsalted  butter  as  well,  as  in  salted.  0’Callaghanl5 
states  that  many  consignments  of  Australian  unsalted  butter  have  turned 
out  fishy  in  London. 

Thomson20,  21  states  that  a fishy  flavor  will  develop  in  both  salted  and 
unsalted  butter,  but  more  commonly  in  the  salted  butter. 

Rogers18  in  all  his  work  on  fishiness  has  never  met  fishiness  in  unsalted 
butter. 

Washburn  and  Dahlberg42  have  found  that  salted  butter  is  more  likely 
to  turn  fishy  in  storage  than  unsalted  butter. 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


15 


Supplee50  found  that  out  of  a total  of  105  characteristic  comments,  93 
were  found  in  samples  containing  salt.  None  of  his  unsalted  inoculated 
samples  were  scored  fishy. 

The  following  Table  IV  compiled  from  various  sources  indicates  the 
importance  of  salt  in  the  development  of  fishiness : 

TABLE  IV.— EFFECT  OF  SALT  ON  FISHINESS  IN  BUTTER  AS 
COMPILED  FROM  LITERATURE 


Kind  of  butter 

Amount 

of 

salt 

Acid 

St( 

>rage 

Flavor 

Source 

Temp. 

°F. 

Time 

Good  butter 

None 

18 

12 

5 

2 mo. 
2 mo. 
2 mo. 

Stale 

Weak 

Good 

Thomson,  20>21 

Choice  butter 

Salted 

18 

12 

5 

2 mo. 
2 mo. 
2 mo. 

Very  fishy 
Fishy 

Trace  fishy 

Pasteurized — 
ripened 

None 

20 

7 mo. 

Good 

Rogers  et  al.,  26 

Pasteurized — 
ripened 

Salted 

0 

10 

20 

7 mo. 
7 mo. 
7 mo. 

Storage 

Fishy 

Fishy 

Unpasteurized — 
ripened 

Salted 

0 

10 

20 

7 mo. 
7 mo. 
7 mo. 

Fishy 
Fishy 
Very  fishy 

Unpasteurized .... 
Pasteurized 

Salted 
Low  salt 

High 

High 

35 

35 

3 mo. 
3 mo. 

Fishy 

Cheesy 

O’Callaghan, 27 

Unpasteurized — 
ripened 

Unsalted 

0.68 

0 

45  da. 

Metallic 

Supplee, 

ou 

Unpasteurized — 
ripened 

Salted 

0.68 

0 

45  da. 

Fishy 

Neutralized  and 
then  ripened.  . . . 

Unsalted 

—10 

8 mo. 

Cusick, 

66 

Neutralized  and 
then  ripened.  . . . 

Salted 

—10 

8 mo. 

Fishy 

Unpasteurized — 
ripened,  churn  1 

0.0 

0.58 

—15 

113  da. 

Metallic 

Washburn  and 
Dahlberg,  ^ 

Unpasteurized — 
ripened,  churn  1 . 

2.51 

0.58 

—15 

113  da. 

Fishy 

From  our  experimental  results  and  from  the  literature  we  can  conclude 
that  salt  favors  the  development  of  fishiness,  but  that  under  certain  condi- 
tions this  flavor  may  develop  without  the  aid  of  the  salt. 

Overworking  and  Fishiness 

That  overworking  the  butter  promotes  the  development  of  fishiness  in 
the  butter  during  storage  has  been  shown  by  Rogerslg,  Weigmann20, 
Reakes,  Cuddie  and  Reid26,  Hunziker5l,  and  McKay52. 

The  following  Table  quoted  from  Rogers lg  clearly  demonstrates  that 
fishiness  is  accelerated  by  overworking. 


16 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


TABLE  V.-THE  INFLUENCE  OF  OVERWORKING  ON  STORAGE  BUTTER 


No. 

Acidity 

Working 

Comments 

1 

Unripened 
starter  added 

Not  worked 

Aged 

Overworked 

Oily,  trifle  rancid 

2 

0.405% 

No't  worked 

Suggestion  of  fishy,  fruity 

Overworked 

Fishy 

3 

1 

0.586% 

Not  worked 

Aged  and  acid 

Overworked 

Badly  fishy  and  aged 

Metals  and  Fishiness 

It  has  been  known  for  some  time  that  the  presence  of  metallic  salts  has 
a deteriorating  effect  on  the  quality  of  the  butter.  This  has  been'  shown 
by  Weigmann3,  4,  Henzold67,  Marcas  and  Huyge68,  69,  Hoft  70,  Kooper71, 
Rogers  et  al29,  Rogers31,  Hunziker  and  Hosman72,  Palmer  and  Combs7g 
McKay54,  Hunziker5l,  McKay  and  Larsen6Q,  Ruehle74,  and  Molkerei 
Zeitung75. 

Rogers31  states  that  the  presence  of  iron  in  the  cream  in  amounts  as 
small  as  one  part  per  million  parts  of  cream  has  a marked  effect  on  the 
flavor  of  the  resulting  butter.  This  amount  of  iron,  he  says,  may  easily 
come  from  rusty  cream  cans  or  some  other  utensils.  Marcas  and  Huyge68,  69 
found  that  cream  with  a normal  iron  content  of  0.005  parts  per  thousand 
increased  to  0.240  parts  per  thousand  during  twenty-two  hours’  contact  with 
a rusted  can. 

The  literature  shows  that  the  most  common  flavor  that  develops  in  storage 
butter  as  a result  of  the  presence  of  metallic  salts  is  fishiness:  Rogers 
et  al29  Rogers31,  Washburn70,  Hunziker5l,  and  Klein44. 

Rogers  et  al„9  found  that  a great  many  of  the  butters  to  which  iron  had 
been  added  became  fishy,  and  that  where  the  control  also  became  fishy 
the  control  always  was  the  last  to  show  the  flavor.  The  development  of  fishi- 
ness in  butter  containing  added  copper  sulphate  was  even  more  marked. 
They  found  that  after  forty  days’  storage  most  of  the  butter  to  which 
copper  had  been  added  showed  a fishy  flavor,  and  that  after  three  months 
of  storage  a decided  rank,  fishy  flavor  had  developed.  Tin  did  not  produce 
any  fishiness. 

Rogers31  found  in  some  experiments  with  a pasteurizer  in  which  the 
copper  was  badly  exposed,  that  the  score  of  the  fresh  butter  was  decreased 
three  to  four  points  below  that  from  cream  pasteurized  in  a well  tinned 
pasteurizer,  and  that  in  thirty  days  the  butter  from  the  copper  pasteurizer 
had  become  very  fishy. 

Pasteurization  and  Fishiness 

Pasteurization  is  commonly  regarded  as  an  effective  means  of  improving 
the  keeping  quality  of  butter.  That  it  is  also  an  important  means  of  con- 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


17 


trolling  the  development  of  fishiness  has  been  shown  by  a number  of  in- 
vestigators: 0’Callaghan11,  Rogers18,  Rogers  et  al25,  Thomson21,  Reakes, 
Cuddie  and  Reid26,  Supplee50,  Cusick55,  McKay52  & 54,  Hunziker  5l,  McKay 
and  Larsen60,  Brown,  Smith  and  Ruehle56,  and  Washburn  and  Dahlberg42. 

Hunziker37  has  found  that  extremely  high  pasteurizing  temperatures, 
such  as  185°  F.  and  higher,  may  cause  a very  poor  quality  butter,  the  result- 
ing butter  tending  to  have  a disagreeable  flavor,  suggestive  of  fishiness. 
Rogerslg  found  that  butter  made  from  cream  pasteurized  at  180°  F.  still 
may  develop  fishiness  during  storage.  Rogers  et  al25  found  similar  results. 

Marker77  claims  that  butter  made  from  cream  pasteurized  at  170  to  175° 
F.  and  holding  for  15  to  20  minutes,  does  not  go  fishy  when  placed  in 
storage. 

The  literature  tends  to  show  that  pasteurization  at  lower  temperatures  for 
a longer  time  is  more  effective  in  checking  the  development  of  fishiness  than 
pasteurization  at  higher  temperatures  for  a shorter  time. 

From  a review  of  the  literature  we  can  conclude  that  pasteurization 
helps  to  check  the  development  of  fishiness,  but  that  it  is  not  an  absolute 
preventive. 

General  Summary  of  Experiments  and  Literature 

From  the  experiments  conducted  and  the  literature  reviewed  we  can 
draw  the  following  conclusions : 

1.  High  acid,  high  salt,  overworking  and  the  presence  of  metals  such  as 
iron  and  copper  favor  the  development  of  fishiness. 

2.  Pasteurization  helps  to  check  the  development  of  fishiness,  but  it  is  not 
an  absolute  preventive. 

3.  Neutralization,  by  removing  one  of  the  favorable  factors,  high  acid, 
helps  to  prevent  fishiness. 

A Study  of  the  Cause  of  Fishiness  in  Storage  Butter 

The  cause  of  fishiness  in  butter  has  been  attributed  to  products  of  de- 
composition of  some  of  the  constituents  of  butter  through  biological  agencies. 
Among  the  advocates  of  this  theory  are:  Storch1,  Kirchner2,  O’Callaghan 

6>  n>  i5»  Piffard9,  Harrisonl0,  Sommerfeldl7,  Rahn  Brown  and  Smithig 
Orla  Jensen30,  Klein33,  Fleischmann38,  Supplee50,  Brown,  Smith  and 
Ruehle56,  Cusick55. 

Another  school  again  has  taught  that  the  cause  of  fishiness  is  mainly 
chemical.  Among  the  advocates  of  this  theory  are  Rogerslg,  Weigmann3,  4, 
Thomson20,  21,  Reakes,  Cuddie  and  Reid26,  and  Dyer39. 

Weigmann3,  4 attributed  the  cause  of  fishiness  to  iron  which  entered  the 
cream  through  the  use  of  poorly  tinned  vessels.  He  was  able  to  produce 
fishy  butter  by  adding  iron  lactate  to  ripened  cream. 

Rogersl8  is  of  the  opinion  that  fishiness  is  caused  by  a slow,  spontaneous 
chemical  change  to  which  acid  is  essential  and  which  is  favored  by  the 
presence  of  small  amounts  of  oxygen. 


18 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


Thomson20,  sums  up  his  experimental  work  on  fishiness  in  butter  by 
saying  that  it  is  largely  a chemical  change  and  that  the  production  of  the 
flavor  is  favored  by  a high  degree  of  acid  and  salt,  and  a temperature  of 
storage  of  between  30  and  40°  F. 

There  is  a third  school  that  attributes  the  immediate  cause  of  fishiness  to 
the  presence  of  trimethylamine.  Rogersl8  says  that  the  immediate  cause  of 
fishiness  in  butter  is  believed  to  be  due  to  the  presence  of  trimethylamine  in 
butter,  although  Rogers  himself  does  not  subscribe  to  this  theory.  Som- 
merfeldl7  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  fishy  taste  was  due  to  trimethylamine 
and  that  it  resulted  from  cattle  grazing  on  meadows  which  were  frequently 
flooded.  Supplee50  with  considerable  experimental  evidence,  advanced  the 
trimethylamine  theory,  holding  that  the  cause  of  its  formation  was  mainly 
biological.  A similar  conclusion  was  drown  from  the  work  of  Cusick55. 

The  data  from  Supplee50  and  also  Cusick’s  work,  seem  to  indicate  that 
the  most  logical  source  of  the  trimethylamine-  in  the  butter  is  lecithin.  If 
lecithin  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  source  of  the  fishy  flavor,  then  two  con- 
ditions must  be  fulfilled;  first,  there  must  be  enough  lecithin  normally 
present  in  milk,  cream  and  butter  to  give  rise  to  sufficient  trimethylamine 
to  account  for  the  flavor;  second,  the  optimum  conditions  under  which 
lecithin  will  yield  trimethylamine  must  coincide  with  the  conditions  which 
are  known  to  favor  the  development  of  fishiness  in  storage  butter.  The 
following  pages  are  concerned  with  a consideration  of  these  two  conditions. 

The  Amount  of  Lecithin  in  Dairy  Products 

The  lecithin  content  of  milk  and  other  dairy  products  has  received  the 
attention  of  a number  of  investigators.  Table  VI  gives  a summary  of  the 
lecithin  content  of  milk,  cream  and  butter  as  compiled  from  the  literature. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  fact  that  milk  contains  lecithin;  the 
work  of  a large  number  of  investigators  verifies  this : Tolmatschaff93, 
Wrampelmeyer78,  Beilstein79,  Stoklasa80,  Burowgl,  Schmidt-Muhlheim8,, 
Bardas  and  de  Raczkowski83-87,  Koch  and  Woodsg8,  Nerking  and  Efaensel8g 
Lewkowitsch90,  Gilkingl,  Brodrick-Pittard92,  Supplee50,  Wintersteing4 
Koch95,  Fetzer96,  Osborn  and  Wakemang7,  Arbenz98,  Cusick55. 

Table  VI  shows  that  there  is  an  appreciable  difference  in  the  amount  of 
lecithin  found  by  various  investigators.  Part  of  the  difference  is  un- 
doubtedly due  to  imperfections  in  the  analytical  methods  used,  and  part  to  an 
actual  difference  in  the  samples. 

Very  little  is  known  about  the  factors  that  determine  the  amount  of 
lecithin  in  milk.  The  results  of  Bardas  and  de  Raczkowskig3-87  and 
Brodrick-Pittardg2  indicate  that  the  lecithin  content  is  highest  in  the  early 
part  of  the  lactation  period.  Fetzer96,  and  Brodrick-Pittard92  found  that 
the  lecithin  content  varied  directly  with  the  fat  content.  Brodrick-Pittard 
also  state  that  it  is  dependent  upon  the  individuality  of  the  cow. 

Besides  the  factors  mentioned  above  to  account  for  differences  in  lecithin 
content,  several  investigators  have  shown  that  the  lecithin  content  of  butter 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


19 


TABLE  VI.— THE  LECITHIN  CONTENT  OF  DAIRY  PRODUCTS 


Kind  of  milk 

M 

ilk 

Cream 

Bu 

tter 

Source 

Low- 

est 

High- 

est 

Average 

Low- 

est 

High- 

est 

Per  cent 

Per  cent 

Per  cent 

Per  cent 
0.007 

Per  cent 
0.033 

Wrampelmeyer, 

78 

0.15 

0.17 

Beilstein,  79 

0.170 

0.090 

0.186 

0.113 

Stoklasa,  so 

0.049 

0.058 

Burow,  31 

0.04 

Schmidt-Muhl- 
heim,  g* 

Cow  

0.043 

0.058 

Bardas  and 
Raczkowski, 

S3~S" 

Cow 

0.036 

0.049 

Koch  and 
Woods, 88 

Cow  (17  samples)... 

0.036 

0.116 

Nerking  and 
Haensel,  39 

Human  (10  samples) 

0.024 

0.080 

Ass  (6  samples)  .... 

0.006 

0.039 

Ewe  (4  samples) .... 

0.051 

0.167 

Goat  (11  samples).  . 

0.036 

0.075 

Mare  (8  samples). . . 

0.007 

0.017 

Cow 

0.017 

0.170 

Lewkowitsch, 

90 

Gilkin,  91 

Cow  

0.0515 

0.050 

Cow 

0.0553 

(15%  cream) 
0.090 

Brodrick-Pit- 
tard,  92 

Cow 

0.0723 

Supplee,  60 

is  influenced  by  the  pasteurization  of  the  cream. 

Thus  Bordas  and  de  Raczkowskig3-87  found,  in  comparing  the  lecithin 
content  of  raw  and  pasteurized  milk,  that  heating  at  60°  C.  for  30  minutes 
reduced  it  14%,  95°  C.  for  30  minutes  reduced  it  28%,  and  autoclaving  at 
105  to  110°  C.  for  30  minutes  reduced  it  30%. 

Dornic  and  Daire99  found  that  buttermilk  from  naturally  ripened 
pasteurized  cream  contained  more  lecithin  than  milk. 

Supplee50  found  that  sweet  cream  butter  contained  0.0723%  lecithin, 
while  the  corresponding  pasteurized  ripened  cream  butter  contained  only 
0.0433%. 

A Study  of  Conditions  Under  Which  Lecithin  Yields 
Trimethylamine 

If  lecithin  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  mother  substance  of  the  fishy  flavor, 
trimethylamine,  then  it  must  undergo  decomposition  under  the  conditions 
that  produce  fishy  butter.  Moreover,  using  conditions  imitating  those  in 
butter,  the  conditions  that  give  the  maximum  decomposition  of  lecithin 


20 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


into  trimethylamine  must  coincide  with  the  conditions  known  to  favor  the 
development  of  fishiness  in  storage  butter.  With  this  in  view  the  decom- 
position of  lecithin  under  various  conditions  was  studied. 

Trimethylamine  Determination 

The  trimethylamine  determination  used  consisted  of  two  steps : First,  the 
quantitative  aspiration  of  volatile  bases  from  the  alkaline  solution  and  ab- 
sorption in  standard  acid;  second,  the  conversion  of  the  ammonia  into 
hexamethylenetetramine  by  means  of  an  excess  of  neutral  formaldehyde 
with  the  liberation  of  an  equivalent  amount  of  acid  which  can  be  titrated 
to  determine  the  amount  of  ammonia,  and  from  that  the  amount  of  trime- 
thylamine by  difference. 

The  aspiration  used  was  that  of  Folin  and  Farmerl00  and  Folin  and 
Macalluml0l,  and  also  used  by  Supplee50  for  isolating  volatile  bases  from 
samples  of  fishy  butter.  Fifteen  cubic  centimeters  of  the  substance  con- 
taining the  volatile  bases  were  transferred  to  the  proper  tube  of  the  Folin 
apparatus,  covered  with  a thin  film  of  a thirty  per  cent  rosin  solution  in 
turpentine  to  prevent  foaming,  ten  grams  of  anhydrous  potassium  carbonate 
were  added  and  the  contents  of  the  tube  aspirated  for  5 hours.  The  volatile 
bases  set  free  were  collected  in  5 cc.  of  N/10  sulphuric  acid  diluted  to  50 
cc.  and  the  excess  of  acid  at  the  end  of  the  aspiration  titrated  with  N /100 
sodium  hydroxide  using  alizarin  as  indicator.  The  result  of  this  titration 
thus  gave  the  total  amount  of  volatile  bases. 

To  determine  the  trimethytamine  by  difference  the  ammonia  was  con- 
verted into  hexamethylene-tetramine  by  the  addition  of  20  cc.  of  40% 
neutral  formaldehyde  after  the  above  titration  for  the  total  volatile  bases. 
The  amount  of  acid  liberated  from  the  ammonium  salt  was  titrated  with 
N/100  sodium  hydroxide,  and  the  end  point  determined  by  comparing  the 
color  with  a standard  in  a comparator  block.  This  titration  gave  a meas- 
ure of  the  amount  of  ammonia,  and  thus  by  difference  between  the  total 
bases  and  the  ammonia  the  trimethylamine  was  determined. 

In  all  cases  the  volume  of  the  solution  to  be  titrated  was  kept  as  small 
and  constant  as  possible.  The  amount  of  the  indicator  was  the  same  for 
each  titration.  Blank  determinations  were  run  with  each  set  of  determi- 
nations. 

Before  any  determinations  were  made  by  this  method  it  was  studied  to 
determine  its  efficiency.  The  conversion  of  ammonia  into  hexamethylene- 
tetramine by  formaldehyde  has  been  studied  by  a number  of  investigators : 
Delepine102,  Cambier  and  Brochetl03,  Ronchesel04,  Malfatti 
Wilkiel06,  Parkerlo7,  Thaul08,  Meurice  l09,  Sandersll0,  Budai  m, 
and  Supplee50.  It  has  been  shown  that  the  reaction  is  complete  and  not 
reversible 

6 CH20+4  NH4Cl-MNaOH-*(CH2)6N4  +10  H20+4NaCl 
That  this  conclusion  is  correct  and  the  method  based  on  it  is  sound  has 
been  substantiated  by  our  experiments.  In  a series  of  ten  determinations, 
starting  with  a known  amount  of  neutral  ammonium  chloride,  and  adding 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


21 


neutral  formaldehyde,  the  titrations  of  the  acidity  developed  accounted  for 
99.93%  of  the  ammonia  known  to  be  present,  (extremes, — 99.86  to  99.95.) 

In  a series  of  ten  determinations,  starting  with  a known  amount  of  am- 
monium chloride,  and  taking  it  through  the  aspiration  and  the  formaldehyde 
conversion  processes,  99.275%  of  the  ammonia  was  accounted  for  (extremes 
98.63  to  100.00). 

In  a series  of  four  determinations,  starting  with  a mixture  of  known 
amounts  of  ammonia  and  trimethylamine  and  taking  them  through  aspira- 
tion and  conversion  processes,  determining  the  trimethylamine  by  difference, 
99.23%  (extremes  98.63  to  99.74%)  of  the  original  ammonia,  and  97.57% 
(extremes  97.45  to  97.68%)  of  the  original  trimethylamine  were  accounted 
for. 

These  results  justify  the  use  of  this  method  for  the  determination  of 
trimethylamine  in  the  presence  of  ammonia. 

Preparation  of  Lecithin 

The  lecithin  used  in  the  experiments  was  prepared  from  egg  yolks  ac- 
cording to  the  method  described  by  Long42.  The  yolks  of  six  dozen  fresh 
eggs  were  separated  from  the  whites  and  then  squeezed  through  cheese 
cloth  into  a large  bottle  containing  1888  cc.  ether.  The  bottle  was  corked 
securely,  put  in  a shaker  and  shaken  continuously  for  ten  hours ; 3000  cc. 
of  alcohol  were  then  added  and  the  mixture  again  shaken  for  twelve  hours. 
The  mixture  was  allowed  to  settle  and  the  alcohol-ether  solution  filtered 
and  distilled  to  a pasty  condition  at  a low  temperature  on  a water  bath  and 
finally  by  the  aid  of  a vacuum.  The  residue  was  taken  up  in  pure  ether,  the 
solution  filtered,  concentrated  (as  much  as  possible  out  of  contact  with  air) 
in  a distilling  flask  and  precipitated  with  pure  neutral  acetone  in  excess. 
The  lecithin  settled  out  as  a white  heavy  precipitate.  This  operation  of  dis- 
solving in  ether  and  reprecipitating  by  acetone  was  repeated  three  times, 
the  last  product  being  carefully  dried  in  a vacuum  desiccator  over  calcium 
chloride.  In  this  way  a product  was  obtained  which,  at  first,  was  light 
yellow  in  color  and  plastic,  but  which  with  age  and  loss  of  water,  became 
darker  and  horny. 


Experimental 

Using  the  lecithin  prepared  as  outlined  above  emulsions  of  the  lecithin 
were  made  and  subjected  to  various  conditions.  Each  of  the  samples  pre- 
pared was  exactly  15  cc.  in  volume.  The  concentration  of  lecithin  and  other 
conditions  in  these  solutions  were  such  that  they  imitate  the  conditions  in 
butter.  It  was  assumed  that  butter  becoming  fishy  had  0.1%  lecithin  (see 
Table  VI),  16%  moisture  and  2 to  4%  salt.  Assuming  that  all  the  salt, 
acid  and  lecithin  in  the  butter  were  in  solution  in  the  brine  of  the  butter, 
emulsions  were  prepared  to  imitate  the  concentrations  of  the  above  assumed 
butter  brine.  The  following  combinations  were  studied : 


22 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


1.  0.1%  lecithin. 

i irncalt^  2.  0.1%  lecithin,  0.1%  ferrous  lactate. 

nSa  6 3.  0.1%  lecithin,  hydrogen  peroxide  1 cc. 

to  15  cc.  emulsion. 

2.  Salt  2% (Same  as  above) 

3.  Salt  4% , “ “ 

4.  Unsalted,  0.25%  lactic  acid “ “ “ 

5.  Unsalted,  0.50%  lactic  acid “ “ “ 

6.  Salt  2%,  lactic  acid  0.25% “ “ “ 

7.  Salt  2%,  lactic  acid  0.50% “ “ 

8.  Salt  4%,  lactic  acid  0.25% “ “ “ 

9.  Salt  4%,  lactic  acid  0.50% “ “ “ 

(Note:  The  figures  refer  to  the  percentage  of  salt,  lecithin,  acid  and  ferrous  lactate 

in  the  corresponding  butter.  The  actual  concentration  in  the  brine  or  emulsions 
studied  is  therefore  higher  than  the  figures  given.  The  concentration  of  the  emulsions 
is  actually  6J4  times  as  high  as  the  figures  given  in  the  outline.) 

Thus  in  this  experiment  there  were  three  series  of  samples.  The  first 
series  consisted  of  lecithin  emulsions  under  various  combinations  of  salt 
and  acid,  the  second  series  was  similar  to  the  first  with  the  addition  of  0.1% 
ferrous  lactate  to  all  samples  in  the  series,  the  third  series  was  similar  to 
the  first  with  the  addition  of  1 cc.  of  three  per  cent  hydrogen  peroxide  to 
each  sample  in  the  series.  Small  amounts  of  ether  were  added  to  each  tube 
to  inhibit  the  development  of  microorganisms.  The  tubes  were  then 
tightly  corked,  sealed  with  paraffin  wax  and  incubated  at  35°  C.  for  six 
weeks.  At  the  end  of  that  time  the  amount  of  trimethylamine  in  each  tube 
was  determined  according  to  the  method  described.  The  trimethylamine 
found  was  then  calculated  and  expressed  as  per  cent  of  the  total  trimethyla- 
mine theoretically  possible  from  the  amount  of  lecithin  in  the  sample.  In 
this  calculation  lecithin  was  taken  as  the  distearyl  type  and  the  nitrogen 
present  was  assumed  to  be  all  in  the  form  of  choline.  Table  VII  gives  the 
results  of  this  set  of  experiments. 

The  results  of  this  experiment  as  given  in  Table  VII  show  that  there  is 
not  much  decomposition  of  lecithin  into  trimethylamine  where  oxidation  is 
not  favored,  but  that  where  oxidization  is  favored  there  is  a very  marked 
decomposition.  In  all  cases  the  best  decomposition  is  each  series  was  ob- 
tained where  high  acid  and  salt  were  present;  in  the  hydrogen  peroxide 
series,  five  times  as  high  as  in  the  samples  where  acid  and  salt  were  not  pres- 
ent. Salt  alone  and  acid  alone  gave  only  slightly  greater  decomposition 
than  the  control  except  in  the  hydrogen  peroxide  series  where  the  presence 
of  the  acid  caused  a decided  increase.  In  general  the  samples  with  the 
highest  acidity  gave  the  highest  percentage  decomposition. 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


23 


TABLE  VII.— THE  CHEMICAL  DECOMPOSITION  OF  LECITHIN 
INTO  TRIMETHYLAMINE 


0. 

1%  lecithin  plus 

Nothing 

0.1%  ferrous 
lactate 

1 cc.  hydrogen 
peroxide 
to  14  cc. 

No  salt,  no  acid .A 

(Per  cent  of  tri 
4.99 

methylamine  of 
4.74 

total  possible) 
4.31 

2%  salt,  no  acid 

5.17 

0.86 

5.26 

4%  salt,  no  acid 

5.17 

0.86 

5.17 

No  salt,  0.25%  lactic  acid 

5.60 

5.69 

8.62 

No  salt,  0.50%  lactic  acid.  . . , . . 

5.69 

5.69 

9.48 

2%  salt,  0.25%  lactic  acid 

6.20 

5.86 

11.20 

4%  salt,  0.25%  lactic  acid 

6.20 

5.77 

11.20 

2%  salt,  0.50%  lactic  acid 

6.89 

7.32 

22.40 

4%  salt,  0.50%  lactic  acid 

7.07 

7.75 

22.83 

Note:  The  amount  of  lecithin,  ferrous  lactate,  salt  and  acid  are  expressed  on 

the  basis  of  (16%  moisture)  butter  corresponding  to  these  emulsions,  i.  e.,  the 
actual  concentration  of  these  substances  in  the  emulsions  is  6)4  times  as  great  as 
stated  in  the  table. 


TABLE  VIII.— THE  CHEMICAL  DECOMPOSITION  OF  LECITHIN  INTO 
TRIMETHYLAMINE 


0.1%  lecithin  plus: 

Treatment  of  sample 

Nothing 

0.1  % fer- 
rous 
lactate 

Hydrogen 
peroxide 
1 cc.  to  14 

Oxygen 

0.1  % fer-  ' 
rous  lac- 
tate plus 
oxygen 

No  salt,  no  acid 

(Per  cen 
1.89 

t of  trimeth 
1.46 

ylamine  of 
2.49 

total  pos 
2.16 

sible) 

2.50 

2%  salt,  no  acid 

2.85 

1.66 

5.77 

2.85 

4.65 

4%  salt,  no  acid 

2.85 

2.50 

5.77 

2.85 

4.99 

No  salt,  0.25%  lactic  acid. 

4.22 

3.32 

8.79 

6.55 

6.60 

No  salt,  0.50%  lactic  acid. 

4.48 

4.32 

10.34 

10.52 

7.93 

2%  salt,  0.25%  lactic  acid. 

5.60 

4.98 

11.29 

14.65 

8.43 

4%  salt,  0.25%  lactic  acid. 

5.60 

5.77 

11.20 

14.82 

8.13 

2%  salt,  0.50%  lactic  acid. 

5.77 

7.41 

13.78 

17.23 

8.87 

4%  salt,  0.50%  lactic  acid  . 

6.29 

7.41 

14.04 

17.75 

9.13 

Note:  The  amount  of  lecithin  ferrous  lactate,  salt  and  acid  are  expressed  on 

the  basis  of  butter  (16%  moisture)  corresponding  to  these  emulsions,  i.  e.,  the 
actual  concentration  of  these  substances  in  the  emulsions  is  6J4  times  as’ great  as 
stated  in  the  table. 


24 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


Thus  the  results  show  that  acidity,  salt  and  oxidization  play  an  important 
part  in  the  decomposition  of  lecithin  into  trimethylamine  just  as  these  same 
factors  do  in  the  development  of  fishiness  in  butter  during  storage. 

This  experiment  was  repeated  in  the  same  way  except  that  mercuric 
chloride  was  used  as  a preservative  and  with  two  additional  series,  (a) 
Lecithin  plus  oxygen  (b)  Lecithin  plus  ferrous  lactate  plus  oxygen. 

In  these  two  series  the  air  above  the  samples  in  the  bottles  was  displaced 
by  forcing  oxygen  through  from  an  oxygen  drum.  Instead  of  the  test  tubes 
used  in  the  first  experiment  half  pint  milk  bottles  were  used  for  the  sam- 
ples. The  milk  bottles  were  tightly  corked  and  incubated  for  three  weeks 
at  28°  C.  The  amount  of  trimethylamine  was  then  determined  and  calcu- 
lated as  per  cent  of  the  total  trimethylamine  theoretically  possible  from  the 
amount  of  lecithin  used.  The  results  are  given  in  Table  VIII. 

The  results  given  in  Table  VIII  show  that  lecithin  will  undergo  decom- 
position and  yield  trimethylamine  under  condition's  that  exclude  bacterial 
action.  This  decomposition  takes  place  most  readily  under  conditions  that 
combine  salt,  high  acid  and  oxidization.  These  results  correlate  very  nicely 
with  the  conditions  known  to  favor  the  development  of  fishiness,  and  thus 

lend  support  to  the  theory  that  the  fishy  flavor  results  from  the  chemical 

decomposition  of  lecithin  yielding  trimethylamine. 

Trimethylamine  and  Fishiness 

If  trimethylamine  is  the  cause  of  fishiness  in  butter,  it  should  cause  a 
characteristic  fishy  flavor  when  worked  into  normal  butter.  This  was 

actually  tried  out  by  working  100  parts  of  trimethylamine  lactate  into  a 
million  parts  of  fresh  butter ; this  sample  was  then  submitted  to  a number  of 
judges,  and  laymen,  and  was  readily  recognized  as  fishy  by  all.  The  tri- 
methylamine lactate  used  in  this  test  was  obtained  from  the  lecithin  de- 
composition experiments  described  above.  After  the  titrations  for  tri- 

methylamine had  been  made  the  solutions  from  the  various  titrations  were 
concentrated,  the  trimethylamine  liberated  by  the  addition  of  potassium  bi- 
carbonate and  absorbed  in  lactic  acid  of  known  strength.  The  amount  of 
trimethylamine  in  the  solution  was  finally  determined  by  the  trimethylamine 
determination  described  above,  and  enough  of  the  solution  added  to  obtain 
100  parts  of  trimethylamine  lactate  per  million  parts  of  butter. 

By  working  trimethylamine  and  its  salts  into  butter  Supplee50  also  showed 
that  it  readily  caused  the  characteristic  fishy  flavor.  Rogers18,  however, 
worked  large  quantities  of  trimethylamine  into  butter  without  producing  the 
characteristic  fishy  flavor.  These  negative  results  of  Rogers  are  probably 
due  to  the  very  fact  that  large  quantities  were  used,  for  in  large  amounts 
trimethylamine  smells  stringent  like  ammonia,  and  does  not  smell  charac- 
teristically fishy.  Thus,  if  large  amounts  of  trimethylamine  or  its  salts 
are  worked  into  butter,  it  imparts  to  the  butter  a disagreeable,  but  not 
disinctly  fishy,  flavor. 

The  amount  of  trimethylamine  worked  into  butter  in  our  experiment,  and 
the  amounts  worked  into  butter  by  Supplee50  are  reasonable  amounts  for  the 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


25 


purpose.  In  order  to  obtain  100  parts  of  trimethylamine  per  million  parts 
of  butter,  the  butter  would  have  to  have  a lecithin  content  of  0.136%, 
assuming  lecithin  of  the  distearyl  type  and  assuming  that  all  of  the  nitrogen 
in  the  lecithin  goes  to  trimethylamme.  This  amount  of  lecithin  is  possible 
in  butter  as  shown  by  Table  VI.  Further  Supplee50  found  85  parts  of 
trimethylamine  salts  per  million  of  butter  caused  a distinct  fishy  smell  and 
taste. 

Besides  the  objection  that  trimethylamine  worked  into  butter  did  not  pro- 
duce a fishy  flavor,  Rogers  objects  further  to  the  trimethylamine  theory 
on  the  grounds  that  he  found  a distinct  fishy  smell  in  the  distillate  from 
the  fishy  butter  acidified  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid.  In  this  objection 
Rogers  makes  the  a priori  assumption  that  volatile  bases  cannot  be  dis- 
tilled from  acid  solutions.  That  this  is  incorrect  is  demonstrated  by  the 
following  trial.  A solution  of  trimethylamine  sulphate,  0.5%  was  made 
distinctly  acid  to  litmus  and  alizarin,  then  carefully  distilled  and  the  dis- 
tillate gathered.  In  each  of  several  such  trials  the  distillate  had  a dis- 
tinct fishy  odor  and  flavor.  That  Rogers’  assumption  is  incorrect  is  fur- 
ther demonstrated  by  the  following  experiment  in  which  ammonia  is  dis- 
tilled from  an  acid  solution: 

Twenty  grams  of  ammonium  sulphate  were  dissolved  in  a liter  of  dis- 
tilled water  in  a two  liter  distilling  flask.  The  flask  was  connected  with  a 
condenser  which  was  connected  to  a receiving  flask  by  means  of  an  adapter, 
making  a closed  system.  The  condenser  and  receiving  flask  had  been 
rinsed  with  ammonia  free  water.  In  distilling  a small  flame  was  used 
and  special  care  was  taken  to  prevent  superheating  of  the  walls  of  the 
distilling  flask  above  the  level  of  the  liquid.  A series  of  distillations  were 
made  from  the  ammonium  sulphate  solutions  acidified  to  various  degrees 
by  means  of  sulphuric  acid.  In  each  case  50  cc.  of  distillate  were  gathered. 
The  amount  of  ammonia,  in  the  distillate  was  determined  by  Nesslerizing 
and  comparing  with  a standard,  and  the  reaction  of  the  solution  from 
which  it  was  distilled  was  determined  colorimetrically.  The  results  are 
given  in  Table  IX. 


TABLE  IX. — THE  DISTILLATION  OF  AMMONIA  FROM  ACID  SOLUTION 


Amount  of  dilute  sulphuric 

Reaction 

Ammonia  in  distillate 

acid  added 

pH 

parts  per  million 

0.0 

6.2 

95.7 

1.0 

3.5 

40.9 

2.0 

3.1 

22.3 

3.0 

2.7 

17.0 

4.0 

2.5 

13.9 

5.0 

2.4 

13.7 

26 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


The  results  given  in  Table  IX  show  that  an  appreciable  amount  of  am- 
monia is  distilled  from  solutions  that  are  quite  acid.  These  results  can 
readily  be  explained  as  follows : The  ammonium  sulphate  in  aqueous 

solution  dissociates  into  ammonium  ions  and  sulphate  ions. 

(NH4)2  S04  2NH+  + S04 

In  the  aqueous  solution  there  are  also  hydroxyl  ions  and  hydrogen  ions,  and 
at  any  given  temperature  the  product  of  their  concentrations  is  a con- 
stant. At  high  temperatures  this  constant  is  higher  than  at  low  tem- 
peratures. Therefore  at  the  boiling  point  of  the  solutions  there  will  be 
an  appreciable  concentration  of  hydroxyl  ions,  the  exact  concentration  in 
each  case  being  dependent  upon  the  hydrogen  ion  concentration.  . 

h2o  + oh- 

Since  ammonia  is  a weak  base  there  will  always  be  some  undissociated  am- 
monium hydroxide  formed  in  the  presence  of  ammonium  ions  and 
hydroxyl  ions.  The  concentration  of  ammonium  ions  in  the  series  of 
solution  studied  was  the  same  in  all,  but  the  hydroxyl  ion  concentration 
varied  with  the  acidity  as  explained  above.  Therefore  the  concentration 
of  the  undissociated  ammonium  hydroxide  is  dependent  upon  the  hydrogen 
ion  concentration. 

NH  + + OH-  NH  OH 

Ammonium  hydroxide  is  formed  according  to  the  following  reversible  re- 
action : 

NH3  -f  h2o  nh4oh 

Since  NH3  is  volatile,  it  follows  from  this  equation  that  there  must  always 
be  a trace  of  ammonia  vapors  above  any  solution,  that  contains  undis- 
sociated ammonium  hydroxide.  The  amount  may  be  infinitesimal,  but 
when  it  is  continually  removed  as  by  steam  distillation  an  appreciable  amount 
appears  in  the  distillate. 

Trimethylamine  in  Butter 

If  trimethylamine  is  the  cause  of  fishiness  in  butter,  it  must  be 
present  in  such  butter  in  greater  quantities  than  in  normal  butter,  and  in 
such  quantities  that  it  can  be  determined  quantitatively.  Therefore  samples 
of  fishy  butter  both  commercial  and  experimental,  were  analyzed  for 
trimethylamine.  The  following  procedure  was  used: 

One  hundred  grams  of  butter  to  be  analyzed  were  extracted  in  a 
separatory  funnel  five  times  with  hot  water  acidulated  with  hydrochloric 
acid  at  the  rate  of  50  cc.  normal  acid  to  the  liter.  The  washings  were 
separated  from  the  fat  into  a beaker  and  further  acidified  with  hydrochloric 
acid  and  then  evaporated  to  a volume  of  40  cc.  This  concentrated  mixture 
was  made  up  to  50  cc.  with  distilled  water,  and  aliquot  portions  of  15  cc. 
used  for  a trimethylamine  determination  according  to  the  method 
previously  described.  The  results  are  given  in  Table  X. 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


27 


TABLE  X.— THE  TRIMETHYLAMINE  CONTENT  OF  FISHY  BUTTER 


Sample 

number 

Description  of  sample 

Trimethylamine  con- 
tent in  parts  per 
million  parts  of 
butter 

1 

Fresh  butter 

None 

2 

Fresh  butter 

i 

None 

3 

Fishy  butter 

32.65 

Commercial  sample  No.  1 

32.45 

4 

Fishy  butter 

22.37 

Commercial  sample  No.  2 

22.37 

Fishy  butter 

5 

Sample  of  experimental  butter 

35.97 

furnished  by  Hunziker 

35.52 

Fishy  butter 

6 

Experimental  butter  containing 

23.72 

0.4%  acid  and  0.1%  Fe  lactate 

23.80 

Fishy  butter 

7 

Experimental  butter  containing 

25.2 

0.6%  acid  and  0.1%  Fe  lactate 

25.1 

Fishiness  in  Lecithin-Added  Butter 

If  lecithin  is  the  source  of  the  trimethylamine  which  seems  to  be  the 
cause  of  fishiness  in  butter,  then  butter  made  from  cream  to  which 
lecithin  had  been  added  should  become  fishy  more  readily  than  butter 
made  from  the  same  cream  without  lecithin  added,  provided  there  are  no 
other  factors  that  limit  the  amount  of -trimethylamine  produced  regardless 
of  the  amount  of  lecithin  present. 

In  order  to  try  this  out  experimentally  pasteurized  sweet  cream  was 
divided  into  three  lots ; to  one  no  lecithin  was  added,  to  the  second  one 
0.1353%  lecithin  was  added,  and  to  the  third  0.2706%  lecithin  was  added. 
Each  of  these  three  lots  was  in  turn  divided  into  two  portions;  one  was 
left  untreated,  to  the  other  enough  lactic  acid  was  artifically  added  to  increase 
the  acidity  to  0.5%.  These  six  batches  of  cream  were  then  churned 
separately.  The  butter  was  divided  into  two  portions ; one  was  left  un- 
salted, the  other  was  salted  to  3.0%.  These  two  portions  of  butter  were 
in  turn  divided  into  three  portions ; one  was  normally  worked,  the  second 
was  overworked,  and  to  the  third  hydrogen  peroxide  was  added  at  the  rate 
of  3 cc  to  200  grams  of  butter.  These  butter  samples  were  placed  into 
bottles  and  stored  in  a refrigerator  at  35  to  40°  F.  From  time  to  time  the 
butter  was  scored  for  flavor.  The  results  are  given  in  Table  XI. 


28 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


TABLE  XI.— FISHINESS  IN  LECITHIN-ADDED  BUTTER 


Leci- 

Acid 

Salt 

Age, 

Normally 

Over- 

Hydrogen 

thin 

days 

worked 

worked 

peroxide 

g 

31 

0 0 

74 

102 

T3 

31 

<uo 

3% 

74 

C/3 

102 

.5 

43 

31 

0% 

74 

03 

102 

Z 

31 

3% 

74 

102 

Slightly  oily 

ts 

i 

31 

Slightly  oily 
Slightly  oily 
Oily 

0% 

74 

CO 

£65 

Ors. 

102 

lO 

CO 

*"* 

rH 

31 

Slightly  oily 
Slightly  oily 

Slightly  oily 
Slightly  oily 

o' 

OO 

3% 

74 

Slightly  oily 

'O 

a 

£ 

102 

Oily 

Oily 

Very  oily 

'O 

H3 

31 

Slightly  oily 

Slightly  oily 

Slightly  oily 

cfl 

0% 

74 

Oily  and  sweet 

Oily 

Slightly  oily 

.2 

102 

Oily  and  sweet 

Oily  and  sweet 

Oily 

Vs  <a> 

31 

Oily 

Oily 

Oily 

o 

Oj; 

03^ 

3% 

74 

Very  oily 

Very  oily 

Oily 

•J 

JTJ 
^ C3 

102 

Oily  & si.  fishy 

Oily  & si.  fishy 

Oily  & si.  fishy 

c 

31 

Oily 

Oily 

Oily 

c 

03 

0% 

74 

CO 

ggS 

102 

o 

or. 

So 

31 

Slightly  oily 

Slightly  oily 

Oiiy 

o’ 

£ 

3% 

74 

Slightly  oily 

Oily 

Oily 

'O 

« 

C/3 

102 

Oily 

Oily 

Oily 

T3 

31 

Slightly  oily 

Slightly  oily 

Oily 

GJ 

•r*o 

0% 

74 

Slightly  oily 

Oily 

Oily 

c 

43 

210. 

«o 

102 

Oily  and  sweet 

Oily  and  sweet 

Oily 

'3 

o 

31 

Oily 

Very  oily 

Very  oily 

073 

03 -O 
1-4  03 

3% 

74 

Very  oily 

Very  oily 

Very  oily 

►J 

102 

Slightly  fishy 

Slightly  fishy 

Fishy 

The  results  in  Table  XI  show  that  there  was  a fishy  flavor  in  all  the 
salted,  artifically  soured  samples  of  butter  made  from  lecithin-added  cream. 
The  amount  of  lecithin  added  to  the  cream  did  not  impart  a very  noticeable 
flavor  to  the  fresh  butter,  but  as  Table  XI  shows,  even  after  31  days 
storage,  oily  flavors  had  developed.  The  development  of  the  oily  flavor 
was  favored  by  the  same  factors  that  are  known  to  favor  the  development 
of  fishiness,  viz.  salt  and  acid. 

Since  fishiness  developed  only  in  the  lecithin  added  butter  samples,  these 
results  lend  support  to  the  theory  that  trimethylamine  is  the  immediate 
cause  and  lecithin  is  the  mother  substance  of  the  fishy  flavor  in  butter. 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


29 


Biological  Agencies  and  Fishiness 

The  results  thus  far  presented  demonstrate  that  lecithin  undergoes  a 
chemical  decomposition  with  the  formation  of  the  fishy  substance, 
trimethylamine,  under  conditions'  that  are  known  to  favor  the  development 
of  fishiness  in  butter.  These  facts  logically  lead  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  development  of  fishiness  in  butter  is,  at  least  in  part,  due  to  the  above 
reaction;  but  they  do  not  necessarily  exclude  the  possibility  that  in  ad- 
dition biological  factors  are  involved. 

The  development  of  fishiness  in  butter  has  been  attributed  to  biological 
agencies  by  a number  of  investigators,  among  these  are : Storchx,  Kirchner2, 
O’Callaghan  6,  u,  13,  45,  27,  4Q.  Piffard  9,  Harrison  l0,  Sommerfeldl7, 
Rahn,  Brown  and  Smithl9,  Orla-Jensen30,  Klein33,  Fleischmann  s8,  Sup- 
plee5o,  Brown,  Smith,  and  Ruehle56,  and  Cusick  55. 

Attempts  to  produce  a fishy  flavor  in  butter  by  bacterial  inoculation 
have  lead  to  conflicting  results.  0’Callaghan27  describes  experiments  in 
which  he  produced  fishiness  in  butter  by  inoculating  sterile  cream  with 
B.  acidi  lactici  and  Oidium  lactis.  However,  Harding,  Rogers,  and  Smithg 
were  unable  to  produce  fishiness  by  inoculation  with  pure  cultures  of 
Oidium  lactis;  and  Rogers  lg  states  further  that  many  lots  of  butter  be- 
come fishy  in  which  Oidium  lactis  is  absent  both  in  the  butter  or  in  the 
cream  from  which  it  was  made. 

Harrisonl0  in  studying  different  species  of  bacteria  found  in  milk  was 
able  to  produce  fishy  butter  by  inoculating  the  cream.  No  detailed  experi- 
ments are  described,  however.  Kirchner2  states  that  oily,  fishy  and  tallowy 
butter  is  formed  by  acid  producing  bacteria  and  molds,  but  he  gives  no 
experimental  data. 

Rogerslg  in  studying  creameries  where  outbreaks  of  fishy  butter  occurred 
found  no  unusual  varieties  of  bacteria,  nor  was  he  able  to  produce  fishy 
cream  by  inoculating  with  bacteria  isolated  at  such  creameries.  Thom- 
son20,  21  a^so  was  unable  to  obtain  colonies  productive  of  fishiness  by 
making  cultivations  from  very  fishy  butter.  Reakes,  Cuddie  and  Reid2Q 
found  no  significant  differences  in  the  bacterial  flora  of  fishy  and  normal 
butter.  He  also  found  that  plugs  of  fishy  butter  when  inserted  into 
good  butter  did  not  cause  fishiness.  Brown,  Smith  and  Ruehle56  were  unable 
to  identify  any  special  bacterial  flora  with  fishiness.  Hammer 43  isolated 
the  organism,  Bad.  ichthyosmius , from  a can  of  fishy  evaporated  milk,  and 
was  able  to  reproduce  the  flavor  in  milk,  cream  and  evaporated  milk,  but 
not  in  butter  either  by  direct  inoculation  or  inoculating  the  cream  before 
churning.  He  concluded  that  this  organism  is  not  of  direct  importance  as  a 
cause  of  fishiness  in  butter  under  practical  conditions. 

Supplee50  was  able  to  produce  fishy  butter  from  cream  that  had  been 
ripened  24  hours  with  either  Bad.  ichthyosmius  or  another  fishy  organism 
isolated  from  fishy  butter.  Similarly  Cusick55  was  able  to  produce  fishy 
butter  from  cream  ripened  with  Bad.  ichthyosmius,  especially  in  those 
samples  ripened  in  addition  by  B.  lactis  acidi.  The  bacteria  decreased  rapidly 
during  storage,  but  less  rapidly  in  the  salted  samples  than  in  the  unsalted 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  5 7 


30  . 


samples.  He  isolated  the  organism  from  salted  fishy  butter  produced  in 
the  above  manner  at  the  end  of  the  period  of  storage. 

It  is  thus  that  many  of  the  attempts  to  reproduce  fishiness  bacteriologi- 
cally  in  butter  failed.  A few  investigators,  however,  apparently  seemed 
successful.  In  view  of  these  conflicting  results,  a study  was  made  of  the 
production  of  trimethylamine  from  lecithin  and  from  skim  milk  by  bacteria. 

Decomposition  of  Lecithin  by  Bacteria 

In  order  to  study  the  decomposition  of  lecithin  by  pure  culture  of  various 
bacteria  it  was  first  necessary  to  prepare  sterile  lecithin  emulsions.  This 
immediately  raises  the  question  of  a possible  decomposition  of  the  lecithin  in 
the  sterilizing  process,  and  a formation  of  trimethylamine  from  this 
source.  This  possibility  was  investigated  experimentally  in  the  following 
manner: 

Lecithin  emulsions  were  prepared  and  sterilized  under  conditions  which 
did  not  allow  any  trimethylamine  that  may  have  been  formed  to  escape. 
This  was  accomplished  by  placing  the  lecithin  emulsion  in  the  first  of  three 
bottles,  connecting  this  by  means  of  glass  tubing  to  a second  bottle  which 
acted  as  a safety  bottle  to  take  care  of  any  foaming  from  the  first  bottle, 
etc.,  and  the  second  bottle  was  finally  connected  to  a third  bottle  containing 
20  cc.  N/l  sulphuric  acid,  the  glass  tubing  used  ended  in  the  acid.  Thus 
any  trimethylamine  that  was  formed  during  sterilization  could  not  escape. 
The  lecithin  emulsions  were  sterilized  for  30  minnutes  at  15  pounds  steam 
pressure,  and  cooled  slowly.  The  lecithin  emulsion  was  then  made  alkaline 
with  potassium  carbonate  and  aspirated  as  usual.  From  the  titrations  of  the 
acid  the  amount  of  trimethylamine  was  determined.  The  results  are  given 
in  Table  XII. 

The  results  given  in  Table  XII  show  that  there  is  a slight  decomposition 
of  the  lecithin  in  the  sterilizing  proces,  but  the  decomposition  is  so  slight 

TABLE  XII.— THE  DECOMPOSITION  OF  LECITHIN  DURING 
STERILIZATION 


Lecithin 

emulsions 

Sterilized 

in 

cc.  N/100 
acid  to 
neutralize 
volatile 
bases 

Ammonia 

equivalent 

in 

cc.  N/100 
acid 

Tertiary 
amine  in 
cc.  N/100 
acid 

Per  cent  of 
tertiary 
amine  of 
total 
possible 

1 gram  lecithin 
50  cc.  water 

Closed 

bottles 

0.7 

0.15 

0.55 

0.4167 

0.5  gram  lecithin 
25  cc.  water 
25  cc.  skimmilk 

Closed 

bottles 

0.3 

0.05 

0.25 

0.3570 

0.5  gram  lecithin 
25  cc.  water 
50  cc.  skimmilk 

Closed 

bottles 

0.25 

0.05 

0.20 

0.2856 

0.5  gram  lecithin 
25  cc.  water 

Open 

bottles 

0.35 

0.05 

0.30 

0.4284 

The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


31 


that  it  does  not  interfere  with  the  experiments  on  the  biological  decomposi- 
tion of  lecithin.  In  order  to  determine  whether  lecithin  emulsions  aspirated 
directly  without  sterilizing  yield  trimethylamine,  25  cc.  of  2 per  cent 
lecithin  emulsion  were  aspirated  and  titrated  for  trimethylamine.  It  was 
found  that  0.14%  of  the  total  trimethylamine  possible  was  liberated.  Thus 
only  a trace  of  trimethylamine  is  formed  as  the  result  of  the  sterilization. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  grow  organisms  in  pure  lecithin  emulsions. 
Lecithin  was  weighed  out,  2.573  grams,  emulsified,  and  made  up  to  100  cc. 
with  distilled  water.  From  this  stock  emulsion  a series  of  samples  were 
prepared  by  placing  1 cc.  of  the  stock  in  20  cc.  distilled  water.  These  sam- 
ples were  sterilized  for  30  minutes  at  15  pounds  pressure.  Several  such 
tubes  were  inoculated  with  Bad.  ichthyosmius,  and  others  with  an  organism 
isolated  from  fishy  cream.  Both  cultures  were  furnished  by  W.  B.  Ham- 
mer. These  sample  bottles  were  then  tightly  corked  and  incubated  at  28° 
C.  for  44  hours.  The  amount  of  trimethylamine  was  then  determined  in 
the  usual  manner,  and  it  was  found  that  there  was  no  trimethylamine  in  any 
of  the  samples. 

In  order  to  furnish  a more  favorable  medium  for  the  organisms,  samples 
were  prepared  similar  to  the  above,  but  in  which  skim  milk  was  used  instead 
of  water.  One  cc.  of  the  above  stock  lecithin  emulsion  was  placed  into  20 
cc.  of  skimmilk  made  from  milk  powder.  After  sterilizing  these  samples 
were  inoculated  with  the  same  organisms  as  above,  and  incubated  at  28° 
C.  for  72  hours.  Both  these  organisms  first  coagulated  the  milk  to  a soft 
curd  and  then  digested  the  curd  leaving  a brownish  liquid.  No  fishy  smell 
could  be  detected  from  any  of  these  samples,  but  there  was  a repugnant 
odor  in  all  the  inoculated  samples  which  probably  masked  the  fishy  smell. 
The  samples  were  aspirated  and  analyzed  in  the  usual  manner.  The  results 
are  given  in  Table  XIII. 


TABLE  XIII.— TRIMETHYLAMINE  PRODUCED  FROM  SKIMMILK 
AND  LECITHIN  BY  BACTERIA 


Organism 

Total 
volatile 
bases 
cc.  N/100 

Ammonia 
expressed 
in  cc. 

N/100  acid 

Tertiary 
amine  ex- 
pressed in 
cc.  N/100 
acid 

Per  cent 
tertiary 
amine  of 
total  possi- 
ble from 
lecithin 

Bad.  ichthyosmius 

52.65 

26.0 

26.65 

799.5 

Fishy  cream  organism. . . 

57.1 

28.9 

28.2 

845.5 

The  results  given  in  Table  XIII  show  that  about  eight  times  as  much 
tertiary  amine  was  produced  as  is  theoretically  possible  from  the  lecithin 
known  to  be  present  in  the  experiment.  This  would  indicate  that  tertiary 
amines  can  be  formed  from  proteins  by  bacteria,  unless  we  can  account  for 
the  results  in  some  other  manner.  Supplee50  also  found  trimethylamine  in 
cultures  of  Bad.  ichthyosmius  in  skimmilk,  to  the  extent  of  94.4  parts  per 
million. 


32 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


The  most  plausible  sources  of  these  large  amounts  of  tertiary  amines 
are  the  proteins.  However,  in  the  bacterial  decomposition  of  proteins  pri- 
mary and  secondary  amines  are  more  likely  to  be  formed  than  tertiary 
amines.  This  suggests  the  possibility  that  the  volatile  bases  in  the  determi- 
nation, not  destroyed  by  formaldehyde  and  assumed  to  be  tertiary  amine, 
are  in  part  primary  and  secondary  amines. 

In  order  to  investigate  this  possibility,  primary  and  secondary  methyl 
amine  were  prepared  and  purified.  Then  starting  with  known  amounts  of 
each  of  these  in  separate  determinations  the  usual  aspiration  and  titrations 
were  applied.  It  was  found  that  both  the  primary  and  secondary  methyl 
amine  could  readily  be  aspirated  and  absorbed  completely  in  the  standard 
acid,  but  when  the  formaldehyde  was  added  it  was  found  that  they  were 
not  acted  upon  completely  even  after  24  hours.  Thus  the  primary  and  sec- 
ondary amines  were  not  eliminated  by  the  method  used  by  us  in  Table  XIII, 
and  were  included  under  the  heading  “tertiary  amines.” 

In  order  to  determine  quantitatively  the  amount  of  tertiary  amines  found 
under  conditions  which  can  also  produce  primary  and  secondary  amines  it 
is  then  necessary  to  eliminate  the  primary  and  secondary  amines  in  some 
manner. 

These  were  eliminated  in  subsequent  determinations  by  means  of  nitrous 
acid.  The  method  then  used  is  as  follows : The  volatile  bases  were 

aspirated  into  N /I  acid.  To  the  N /I  acid  1 cc.  of  30%  sodium  nitrate  solu- 
tion was  then  added,  shaken,  and  after  two  minutes  another  cubic  centi- 
meter of  nitrite  solution  was  added.  The  nitric  oxide  fumes  are  removed 
from  this  acid  solution  by  aspirating  and  finally  by  rapidly  bringing  the 
solution  to  a boil.  This  acid  solution  which  now  contains  only  the  tertiary 
amines  and  some  ammonia,  can  then  be  aspirated  and  titrated  in  the  former 
manner  for  ammonia  and  tertiary  amines. 

In  applying  this  method  to  a mixture  of  known  amounts  of  ammonia  and 
primary,  secondary  and  tertiary  amines,  it  was  possible  to  account  for 
97.57%  of  the  tertiary  amine  known  to  be  present.  Therefore  this  method 
may  be  regarded  as  an  efficient  method  for  the  purpose. 

Using  this  more  accurate  method  of  analysis  the  experiments  reported 
in  Table  XIII  were  repeated  with  slight  modifications.  Two  series  of 
samples  were  prepared,  consisting  of  20  cc.  portions  of  solution  of  skim- 
milk  powder,  which  had  been  extracted  with  alcohol  and  ether.  To  one 
series  no  lecithin  was  added,  and  to  the  other  2 cc.  of  a 2.257%  lecithin 
emulsion  were  added  to  each  sample.  After  sterilizing  for  30  minutes  at 
15  pounds  pressure,  four  samples  of  each  series  were  inoculated  with  Bad. 
ichthyosmins,  and  four  of  each  series  with  the  fishy  cream  organism.  The 
samples  were  then  incubated  for  72  hours  at  28°  C.  The  amount  of  tri- 
methylamine  was  then  determined,  making  use  of  the  method  described 
above.  The  results  are  given  in  Tables  XIV  and  XV. 

The  results  given  in  Table  XIV  show  that  only  negligible  amounts  of 
trimethylamine  are  produced  from  lecithin  free  skimmilk  by  the  two 
organisms  studied.  This  demonstrates  that  the  large  amounts  of  trimethy- 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


33 


TABLE  XIV.— TRIMETHYLAMINE  FORMED  FROM  LECITHIN  FR 
MILK  BY  BACTERIA 


Organism 

Sample 

number 

Cc.  N/100 
acid  neu- 
tralized by 
volatile 
bases 

Ammonia 
expressed" 
in  cc. 
N/100 
acid 

Tertiary 
amine  ex- 
pressed in 
cc.  N /100 
acid 

Milligrams 
of  tertiary 
amine 
found  per 
gram  of 
total  solids 

Bad.  ichthyosmius . . . . 

1 

12.21 

12.10 

0.11 

0.0361 

2 

12.09 

11 .99 

0.10 

0.0328 

3 

12.09 

11.98 

0.11 

0.0361 

4 

(spoiled) 

Average.  . 

0.107 

0.0350 

Fishy  cream  organism 

1 

13.34 

13.21 

0.13 

0.0427 

2 

13.41 

13.30 

0.11 

0.0361 

3 

13.10 

12.98 

0.12 

0.0394 

4 

13.12 

13.01 

0.11 

0.0361 

Average.  . 

0.118 

0.0383 

TABLE  XV.— TRIMETHYLAMINE  FORMED  FROM  LECITHIN  ADDED 
MILK  BY  BACTERIA 


Organism 

No. 

Cc.  N/100 
acid  neu- 
tralized by 
volatile 
bases 

Ammonia 
expressed 
in  cc. 
N/100 
acid 

Trimethyl 
amine  ex- 
pressed 
in  cc. 
N/100 
acid 

Milligrams 
of  tri- 
methyl- 
amine 
found 

Trimethyl 
amine  ex- 
pressed as 
per  cent  of 
total  pos- 
sible 

Bad.  ich- 
thyosmius. . . 

1 

10.67 

10.13 

0.54 

0.3190 

9.66 

2 

10.63 

10.12 

0.51 

0.3013 

9.12 

3 

10.72 

10.23 

0.49 

0.2895 

8.75 

4 

10.70 

10.18 

0.52 

0.3072 

9.29 

Aver- 

age.. 

0.51 

0.3043 

9 21 

Fishy  cream 
organism  . . . 

1 

12.56 

12.01 

' 0.55 

0.3250 

9.84 

2 

12.66 

12.12 

0.54 

0.3190 

9.66 

3 

12.51 

11.95 

0.56 

0.3309 

10.02 

4 

12.66 

12.11 

0.55 

0.3250 

9.84 

Aver- 

age.. 

0.55 

0.3250 

9.84 

34 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  5 7 


lamine  reported  in  Table  XIII  were  incorrect  and  due  to  the  method  of 
analysis  not  eliminating  the  primary  and  secondary  amines. 

The  results  reported  in  Table  XV  show  that  appreciable  amounts  of  tri- 
methy lamine  are  produced  by  the  two  organisms  from  milk  containing 
lecithin.  We  must  therefore  conclude  that  these  organisms  can  directly  or 
indirectly  decompose  lecithin  into  trimethylamine.  In  all  probability  choline 
is  first  split  off  through  enzymatic  action  or  through  the  acid  formed 
during  these  fermentations.  All  the  cultures  were  decidedly  acid  after 
incubation.  Or  it  may  be  that  enough  choline  was  hydrolyzed  off  during 
the  process  of  sterilization,  and  that  this  choline  was  then  used  as  a pabulum 
by  the  organisms.  The  work  of  Bordas  and  de  Raczkowski  lends  support 
to  such  an  explanation,  for  they  found  that  milk  sterilized  in  an  autoclave 
for  30  minutes  lost  about  30%  of  its  lecithin  content  (probably  through 
hydrolysis). 

A series  of  samples  of  a casein  solution  was  prepared  and  inoculated 
with  Bad.  ichthyosmias,  and  the  fishy  cream  organism,  but  analyses  using 
the  nitrous  acid  method  showed  that  there  was  no  trimethylamine  formed. 

From  these  results  it  seems  that  even  where  bacteria  are  involved  in  the 
production  of  fishiness,  the  source  of  the  trimethylamine  is  the  lecithin. 

In  order  to  determine  whether  these  two  organisms  would  produce  tri- 
methylamine from  lecithin  emulsions  in  skimmilk  under  conditions  that  are 
known  to  favor  the  development  of  fishiness  in  butter,  attempts  were  made 
to  grow  them  in  emulsions  containing  10%  salt  and  0.30%  lactic  acid. 
However,  under,  these  conditions  the  organisms  showed  no  growth  as  judged 
by  the  physical  appearance  of  the  cultures  and  the  absence  of  growth  on 
agar  slants.  This  would  indicate  that  while  these  organisms  can  produce 
trimethylamine  under  favorable  conditions,  they  cannot  be  regarded  as  im- 
portant agencies  in  the  production  of  trimethylamine  in  storage  butter, 
because  the  very  factors  that  favor  the  development  of  fishiness  in  storage 
butter,  high  salt,  and  high  acid  prevent  their  growth  entirely. 

The  Production  of  Trimethylamine  From  Hydrolyzed  and 
Unhydrolyzed  Lecithin 

The  fact  that  the  development  of  fishiness  in  butter  and  the  chemical  de- 
composition of  lecithin  into’  trimethylamine  are  favored  in  acid  conditions 
suggests  that  these  changes  require  as  their  first  step,  the  hydrolysis  of  the 
lecithin.  Further,  several  investigators  have  found  that  choline  is  readily 
decomposed  into  trimethylamine,  other  amines  and  ammonia  by  several 
microorganisms.  It  was  thus  decided  to  study  the  bacterial  and  chemical 
production  of  trimethylamine  from  hydrolyzed  and  unhydrolyzed  lecithin. 

Preparation  of  the  lecithin  emulsions 

Of  the  dried  lecithin,  31.5165  grams  were  weighed  out  and  emulsified  with 
3/20  N lactic  acid  solution  to  a volume  of  1700  cc.  This  emulsion  was 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


35 


divided  into  two  portions  of  800  and  900  cc.  The  900  cc.  portion  was  im- 
mediately made  neutral  to  phenolphthalein  with  N/l  sodium  hydroxide.  Its 
final  volume  was  1250  cc.  The  800  cc.  portion  was  hydrolyzed. 

This  800  cc.  portion  made  up  in  3/20  N lactic  acid  was  hydrolyzed  for  13 
hours  according  to  the  method  of  Mahlengreau  and  Prigent113.  A dark 
oil  separated  out  at  the  surface  and  a creamy,  fatty  substance  gathered  on 
the  sides  of  the  flask  as  the  hydrolysis  proceeded,  leaving  the  liquid  ulti- 
mately clear  with  a yellow  color.  This  clear  yellow  liquid  was  filtered  off, 
the  flask  washed  out  with  distilled  water  and  the  washings  filtered.  The 
solid  matter  left  on  the  filter  paper  was  washed  with  distilled  water  and 
the  several  washings  added  to  the  filtered  yellow  liquid.  This  liquid  was 
then  neutralized  to  phenolphthalein  giving  1750  cc.  of  a golden  yellow  solu- 
tion. Choline  determinations  were  then  made  on  this  hydrolized  lecithin 
solution  and  also  on  the  unhydrolyzed  lecithin  solution. 

Choline  determinations 

Tosaka  Kinoshita124  has  subjected  all  the  methods  of  choline  determina- 
tion to  a critical  test  and  found  that  the  platinum  chloride  and  the  mercuric 
chloride  methods  were  the  best.  Briegerll5  also  studied  the  mercuric 
chloride  method  of  determining  choline  and  found  that  six  molecules  of 
mercuric  chloride  combine  with  one  molecule  of  choline  chloride  to  form 
a double  salt,  thus : 

C5  H]4  NO  Cl  - 6Hg  Cl2  H20 

Gulewitschllg  also  assigned  this  formula  to  the  double  salt.  Moruzzi117, 
Mornerllg,  and  Schulze119  also  studied  and  used  this  mercuric  chloride 
method  successfully.  This  method  was  therefore  used  in  our  work. 

Duplicate  samples  of  40  cc.  of  the  unhydrolyzed  emulsion  and  duplicate 
100  cc.  and  40  cc.  samples  of  the  hydrolyzed  lecithin  were  acidified  with 


TABLE  XVI. — THE  AMOUNT  OF  CHOLINE  IN  THE  HYDROLYZED  LECITHIN 

EMULSIONS 


Sample  1 
No.  j 

1 

Volume  1 
of 

sample 
used  1 
1 

I 

Weight  of 
i choline  mercuric 
| chloride  ob- 

tained 

I 1 

Weight  of 
choline  deter- 
mined 

! 1 

Per  cent  of 
choline 
produced  of 
total  possible 

1 

1 ! 

1 1 

i 100  i 

I Grams 

1.682 

1 1 

i Grams 

1 0.1132 

1 

89.18 

2 

100 

1.6760 

1 

1 0.1129 

1 

88.82 

3 

40 

1 

0.6705 

1 

0.0451 

88.76 

4 

40 

0.6714 

0.0452 

88.90 

Average 

70 

1.1750 

0.0891 

88.92 

36 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


dilute  hydrochloric  acid  and  rapidly  evaporated  to  dryness  over  a water 
bath,  dried  in  a vacum  desiccator  over  sulphuric  acid,  extracted  with  absolute 
alcohol  and  filtered,  the  filter  paper  being  washed  with  absolute  alcohol  to 
remove  all  the  choline  chloride.  The  filtered  liquid  was  concentrated  to 
about  30  cc.  and  a saturated  solution  of  mercuric  chloride  in  absolute  alcohol 
was  added  to  each  solution.  These  solutions  were  then  allowed  to  stand 
over  night.  The  next  day  the  short  prismatic  crystals  of  the  double  salt 
of  choline  and  mercuric  chlorides  were  filtered  off  and  washed  four  times 
with  absolute  alcohol,  and  dried  in  a vacuum  desiccator  to  constant  weight. 
No  choline  could  be  determined  from  the  unhydrolyzed  lecithin  emulsions 
but  the  hydrolyzed  lecithin  emulsions  yielded  large  amounts.  The  results 
are  given  in  Table  XVI. 

The  results  in  Table  XVI  show  that  88.92%  of  the  choline  was  liberated 
in  the  method  of  hydrolysis  used.  Heffter12Q  using  lecithin  extracted  from 
liver  « tained  only  25%  of  the  theoretical  amount  of  choline,  Moruzzi117 
obtains  only  77%  from  egg  lecithin;  Erlandsen121  42%  from  heart  lecithin; 
and  Osborne  and  Wakeman97  39.5%  from  milk  lecithin.  In  all  these  cases 
the  alkaline  method  of  hydrolysis  was  used.  Maclean122  was  able  to  obtain 
92%  of  the  theoretical  choline  from  lecithin.  Mahlengreau  and  Pilgent113 
using  the  acid  method  of  hydrolysis  found  as  high  as  96.4%  choline  from 
lecithin.  Coriat123  claims  that  he  obtained  the  theoretical  amount  of 
choline  from  brain  lecithin. 

Preparation  of  Samples  for  Study  of  Chemical  and  Bacteri- 
ological Decomposition  of  Hydrolyzed  and  Unhydrolyzed 

Lecithin 

To  study  the  chemical  decomposition  of  the  lecithin  into  trimethylamine 
samples  were  prepared  in  which  the  following  conditions  and  combinations 
of  them  were  studied : acid,  salt,  copper  sulphate,  ferric  lactate,  and  hydrogen 
peroxide. 

For  the  study  of  the  bacterial  decomposition  two  cultures  were  used: 
Bad.  ichthyosmius,  and  the  fishy  cream  organism. 

All  of  the  samples  were  so  measured  out  that  each  contained  0.25  gram 
of  lecithin  in  a volume  of  186  cc.  The  samples  were  all  incubated  for  14 
days  at  a temperature  of  28°  C.,  and  at  the  end  of  this  time  were  analyzed 
for  trimethylamine  using  the  earlier  method  with  the  nitrous  acid  modifica- 
tion. Table  XVII  gives  a description  of  the  samples  and  the  amount  of 
trimethylamine  produced. 

From  Table  XVII  it  is  very  evident  that  hydrolysis  of  the  lecithin  in- 
creases the  trimethylamine  yield  markedly.  In  general  the  amount  of  tri- 
methlyamine  produced  from  the  hydrolyzed  lecithin  is  twice  as  high  as  the 
amount  produced  from  the  unhydrolyzed  lecithin. 

In  general  the  presence  of  salt  caused  a marked  increase  in  trimethylamine 
in  the  unhydrolyzed  samples,  but  only  a slight  increase  in  the  hydrolyzed 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


37 


TABLE  XVII— PERCENTAGE  DECOMPOSITION  OF  UNHYDROLYZED- 
AND  HYDROLYZED  LECITHIN  INTO  TRIMETHYLAMINE 


Sample  No. 

A 

Description  of  sample:  0.25 
gram  lecithin  in  186  cc.  solu- 
tion containing: 

Uni 

hydrolyzed 

lecithin 

Hydrolyze 

lecithin 

d 

Sterile  samples 
HgCh  0.1% 

Bad.  ichthy- 
os  mills 

Fishy  cream 
organism 

Sterile  samples 
HgCh  0.1  % 

Bad.  ichthy- 
os  mius 

Fishy  cream 
organism 

1 

Nothing  added-control 

1.46* 

4.23 

4.39 

3.04 

12.27 

12.91 

2 

0.5%  lactic  acid 

1.66 

3.78 

3 

0.5%  lactic  acid  and  pasteur- 
ized 140°  F.,  30  min 

1.98 

1.95 

1.98 

3.16 

3.13 

3.10 

4 

0.5%  lactic  acid  and  pasteur- 
ized 180°  F.,  1 min 

1.66 

1.66 

1.63 

3.07 

3.11 

3.09 

5 

15%  salt 

1.50 

3.12 

6 

Copper  sulphate  0.1%,  hydro- 
gen peroxide  2 cc 

3.19 

4.84 

7 

Ferrous  lactate  0.1%,  hydro- 
gen peroxide  2 cc 

2.34 

4.36 

8 

Lactic  acid  0.5%,  salt  15%. . . . 

4.20 

3.86 

9 

Lactic  acid  0.5%,  copper  sul- 
phate 0.1%,  hydrogen  perox- 
ide 2 cc 

6.77 

15.66 

10 

Lactic  acid  0.5%,  ferrous  lac- 
tate 0.1  %,  hydrogen  peroxide 
2 cc 

6.64 

14.95 

11 

Salt  15%,  copper  sulphate 
0.1%,  hydrogen  peroxide  2 

CC.  . 

3.06 

5.04 

12 

Salt  15%,  ferrous  lactate  0.1%, 

hydrogen  peroxide.  2 cc 

3.00 

4.58 

13 

Lactic  acid  0.5%,  salt  15%, 
copper  sulphate  1 %,  hydro- 
gen peroxide  2 cc 

12.91 

16.14 

14 

No.  13  pasteurized  140°  F.  30 
min 

13.66 

16.57 

15 

No.  13  pasteurized  180°  F.  1 
min. . . . 

12.85 

15.98 

16 

Lactic  acid  0.5%,  salt  15%,  fer- 
rous lactate  0.1%,  hydrogen 
peroxide  2 cc.  . 

12.13 

15.15 

17 

Sucrose  1.0%. 

11.80 

12.48 

19.67 

21.17 

♦Per  cent  of  trimethylamine  of  total  theoretically  possible. 


38 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


samples.  If  we  compare  the  salted  samples  with  the  corresponding  unsalted 
samples  (compare  samples  5 and  1,  8 and  2,  11  and  6,  12  and  7,  13  and  9, 
16  and  10),  we  find  that  in  the  case  of  the  unhydrolyzed  lecithin  the  presence 
of  the  salt  caused  on  an  average  an  increase  of  2.45%  in  the  trimethylamine 
yield  as  compared  with  an  average  increase  of  only  0.34%  in  the  hydrolyzed 
lecithin  solutions.  This  suggests  the  hypothesis  that  the  stimulating  effect 
of  the  salt  in  the  trimethylamine  production  is  due  to  its  solvent  action; 
in  the  unhydrolyzed  lecithin  samples  the  salt  brings  the  lecithin  more 
nearly  in  true  solution  so  that  it  can  be  acted  upon  more  readily,  while  in 
the  hydrolyzed  lecithin  samples  the  choline  which  gives  rise  to  the  tri- 
methylamine is  already  in  solution. 

If  we  compare  the  samples  with  acid  with  the  corresponding  samples  with- 
out acid,  we  find  that  acid  caused  a big  increase  in  the  trimethylamine 
yield.  (Compare  samples  2 and  1,  8 and  5,  9 and  6, .10  and  7,  13  and  11,  16 
and  12).  In  the  unhydrolyzed  lecithin  samples  the  presence  of  acid  caused 
an  average  increase  of  4.96  in  the  per  cent  of  trimethylamine,  while  in  the 
hydrolyzed  samples  it  caused  an  average  increase  of  7.43. 

The  method  of  pasteurization  did  not  seem  to  make  an  appreciable  dif- 
ference in  the  amount  of  trimethylamine  produced.  It  may  be  significant, 
however,  that  the  pasteurization  at  140°  F.  for  30  minutes  gave  slightly 
higher  yields  than  the  samples  pasteurized  at  180°  F.  for  1 minute,  especially 
in  the  unhydrolyzed  series.  (Compare  samples  2,  3 and  4,  and  13,  14  and 
15.)  This  would  lend  support  to  the  hypothesis  that  in  pasteurizing  at  140 
or  145°  F.  for  30  minutes  there  is  more  choline  hydrolyzed  off  than  in 
pasteurizing  at  180°  for  1 minute. 

It  will  be  noted  that  even  in  the  bacterial  decompositions  the  largest 
yields  of  trimethylamine  were  obtained  in  the  hydrolyzed  series,  indicating 
that  here  too  choline  is  first  formed  by  hydrolysis.  Pasteurized  samples 
3 and  4 were  not  acted  upon  by  the  two  organisms  studied,  undoubtedly  due 
to  the  acidity  of  the  medium.  These  samples  showed  no  growth  on  agar 
slants. 

General  Discussion 

It  has  been  shown  in  the  early  part  of  this  bulletin  by  means  of  experi- 
mental work  and  a review  of  the  literature  that  the  conditions  that  favor 
the  development  of  fishiness  in  storage  butter  are  high  acid,  high  salt,  and 
oxidation  produced  either  by  overworking  or  by  the  presence  of  iron  or 
copper  salts.  It  has  further  been  shown  in  this  work  that  lecithin  will 
undergo  a purely  chemical  decomposition  yielding  trimethylamine  as  one  of 
the  products.  Further,  the  optimum  conditions  for  the  production  of  this 
fishy  flavored  substance,  trimethylamine,  from  the  lecithin  emulsions  are 
identically  the  same  as  the  optimum  conditions  for  the  development  of  fishi- 
ness in  storage  butter.  These  results  lend  strong  support  to  the  theory  that 
fishiness  in  butter  is  due  to  trimethylamine  formed  as  a result  of  a purely 
chemical  decomposition  of  lecithin. 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


39 


Analyses  taken  from  the  literature  show  that  butter  contains  sufficiently 
large  amounts  of  lecithin  to  produce  the  amounts  of  trimethylamine  neces- 
sary to  cause  the  fishy  flavor.  The  analyses  indicate  that  most  butter  sam- 
ples contain  enough  lecithin  to  produce  from  50  to  100  parts  of  trimethyla- 
mine per  million  parts  of  butter.  In  this  work  100  parts  of  trimethyla- 
mine lactate  per  million  parts  of  butter  caused  a decided  fishy  flavor. 
Supplee  found  that  85  parts  of  trimethylamine  or  its  salts  caused  a char- 
acteristic fishy  flavor  in  most  cases.  Undoubtedly  even  somewhat  smaller 
amounts  will  produce  fishiness.  The  samples  of  fishy  butter  analyzed 
(Table  X)  showed  from  23  to  36  parts  of  trimethylamine  per  million.  Un- 
doubtedly most  butter  samples  contain  enough  lecithin  to  produce  fishiness, 
but  there  is  also  the  possibility  that  some  samples  do  not  contain  enough 
lecithin  to  become  fishy.  Such  samples  would  not  become  fishy  even  when 
subjected  to  conditions  which  we  would  ordinarily  expect  to  produce  fishi- 
ness. It  is  also  possible  that  the  period  of  lactation  and  the  ration  may  have 
some  influence  upon  the  lecithin  content  of  milk  and  hence  butter.  This 
might  serve  as  a basis  for  explaining  the  observation  made  by  Rogers 
that  fishiness  is  never  produced  under  winter  conditions. 

That  lecithin  is  the  source  of  fishiness  is  further  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  fishiness  developed  more  readily  in  the  lecithin  added  butter  samples 
(Table  XI). 

While  these  observations  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  main  source  of 
fishiness  is  lecithin  and  that  fishiness  is  produced  from  it  by  a chemical 
decomposition  yielding  trimethylamine,  they  do  not  exclude  the  possibility 
that  biological  agencies  may  be  partly  responsible  for  the  development  of 
fishiness  either  from  lecithin  or  possibly  even  from  some  other  substances. 

The  production  of  trimethylamine  from  proteins  would  involve  a synthetic 
process.  While  this  does  not  exclude  the  possibility  that  part  of  the  tri- 
methylamine may  be  formed  by  bacterial  action,  from  proteins,  it  makes  it 
less  likely.  Experiments  with  Bad.  ichthyosmius  and  the  fishy  cream 
organism  showed  that  these  two  organisms  produced  only  very  small  traces 
of  the  trimethylamine  from  skimmilk  and  casein  solutions.  The  amounts 
produced  were  within  the  limits  of  experimental  error  of  the  analytical 
method,  and  we  may  say  that  these  organisms  produced  no  trimethylamine. 
This  finding  is  contrary  to  that  of  Supplee50  who  reported  that  Bad. 
ichthyosmius  produced  94.4  parts  of  trimethylamine  per  million  parts  of 
skimmilk.  As  shown  in  this  work  these  results  are  incorrect  on  account  of 
the  fact  that  the  analytical  method  did  not  eliminate  the  primary  and  sec- 
ondary amines.  When  these  are  eliminated  no  trimethylamine  is  found 
unless  lecithin  is  present  in  the  culture.  It  was  found  that  both  of  these 
two  organisms  could  produce  trimethylamine  from  lecithin  under  the  proper 
conditions.  We  must  conclude  that  lecithin  is  the  logical  source,  and  thus 
far  the  only  demonstrated  source  of  trimethylamine  in  butter. 

It  was  found  that  the  two  organisms  studied  could  produce  trimethylamine 
from  lecithin  under  favorable  conditions,  but  they  failed  entirely  to  grow 
under  conditions  that  are  favorable  for  the  development  of  fishness,  i.  e., 


40 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


salt  and  high  acid.  We  must  concur  with  Rogersgl  in  the  opinion  that  the 
high  concentration  of  salt  in  the  butter  brine  and  the  low  temperatures  of 
storage  at  which  fishiness  develops  effectually  exclude  the  possibility  of 
fishiness  being  caused  by  microorganisms. 

The  few  investigators  who  claim  they  have  produced  fishiness  in  butter 
by  means  of  micro-organisms  either  did  not  exclude  the  factors  that  favor 
a chemical  decomposition  of  lecithin,  or  used  conditions  that  are  not  normal. 
O’ Caliaghan  in  producing  fishiness  by  means  of  Oidium  lactis  used  B. 
lactis  acidi  with  it  and  thus  produced  an  acidity  that  would  favor  the  purely 
chemical  decomposition.  Moreover,  Rogerslg,  and  Reakes,  Cuddie  and 
Reid26  failed  to  corroborate  O’Callighan’s  findings.  Both  Supplee50  and 
Cusick55  produced  fishiness  in  butter  by  means  of  Bad.  ichthyosmius,  but 
in  order  to  do  so  they  developed  the  organisms  in  the  cream  before  churning 
far  in  excess  of  what  could  be  expected  under  normal  conditions.  In  addi- 
tion they  found  that  this  organism  produced  fishiness  in  their  experimental 
butter  samples-  most  readily  in  the  neutralized  samples.  This  again  is  con- 
trary to  the  normal  development  of  fishiness  in  butter. 

Opposed  to  the  few  successful  reports  we  have  a number  of  investigators 
reporting  failure  in  attempts  to  produce  fishiness  by  bacterial  inoculation 
directly  into  the  butter  or  into  the  cream,  among  these  are  Harding, 
Rogers  and  Smith8,  Rogerslg,  Reakes,  Cuddie  and  Reid26,  Hammer43,  etc. 

Any  enzymatic  theory  for  the  development  of  fishiness  in  butter  seems 
untenable  in  view  of  the  experience  of  Rogers  and  others  that  pasteurization 
at  180°  F.  does  not  necessarily  prevent  the  fishy  flavor. 

These  considerations  eliminate  biological  agencies  as  the  direct  cause 
of  fishiness  in  storage  butter.  The  conclusion  is  that  the  main  cause  is  the 
chemical  decomposition  of  the  lecithin  into  trimethylamine. 

The  role  of  the  Various  Factors  Concerned  in  the  Development  of  Fishiness 

From  the  experimental  evidence  presented  in  this  bulletin  and  from  the 
literature,  we  may  advance  hypotheses  to  explain  the  role  of  the  various 
factors  concerned  in  the  development  of  fishiness. 

Why  Is  Fishiness  More  Common  in  Salted  Than  in  Unsalted 

Butter? 

1.  Salt  brings  out  flavors. 

In  general  salt  in  butter  intensifies  the  flavors.  This  also  holds  true  for 
fishiness.  When  trimethylamine  was  incorporated  into  unsalted  butter  and 
then  part  of  this  butter  salted,  it  was  found  that  the  salted  portion  had  a 
more  intense  fishy  flavor.  This  is  in  accord  with  the  findings  and  the 
opinions  of  0’Callaghan61,  McKay  and  Larsen60,  Rogerslg,  and  Washburn 
and  Dahlberg42. 

Supplee50  found  that  the  addition  of  sodium  chloride  to  trimethylamine 
salts  of  fatty  acids  caused  the  precipitation  of  the  sodium  soap  and  the 
formation  of  trimethylamine  hydrochloride.  This  reaction  may . explain 
in  part  the  intensifying  effect  of  salt  on  the  fishy  flavor. 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


41 


However,  besides  this  intensifying  effect  of  the  salt,  it  must  also  be  in- 
volved in  the  actual  production  of  the  flavor,  because  fishiness  is  not  pro- 
duced by  simply  incorporating  salt  into  an  unsalted  sample  of  butter,  the 
corresponding  salted  sample  of  which  has  become  fishy  in  storage. 

2.  Salt  dissolves-  lecithin. 

Lecithin  is  soluble  in  common  salt  solutions.  By  bringing  the  lecithin 
of  the  butter  into  solution  in  the  brine  of  the  butter,  the  salt  accelerates 
the  hydrolysis  and  oxidation  of  the  lecithin  into  trimethylamine.  This  ex- 
planation is  fully  supported  by  Table  XVII  where  salt  decidedly  increased 
the  trimethylamine  yield  over  that  of  the  corresponding  unsalted  emulsions 
in  the  unhydroylzed  lecithin  series,  but  caused  only  a negligible  increase  in 
the  hydrolyzed  series  where  the  choline  of  the  lecithin  was  already  in  solu- 
tion. Our  conclusion  is  that  the  main  role  of  salt  in  the  development  of 
fishiness  is  to  bring  the  lecithin  of  the  butter  into  solution  in  the  brine. 

3.  Salt  lowers  the  freezing  point  of  the  brine . 

Salt  keeps  the  brine  of  the  butter  under  storage  conditions  in  an  unfrozen 
state,  in  a physical  condition  that  is  more  favorable  for  chemical  reactions 
than  the  frozen  condition  would  be.  This  undoubtedly  is  partly  responsible 
for  the  stimulating  effect  of  the  salt  on  the  development  of  fishiness. 

4.  Salting  necessitates  additional  working  of  the  butter. 

Salting,  especially  when  dry  salting  is  used,  necessitates  additional  working 
to  distribute  the  salt  evenly  in  the  butter.  This  additional  working  is  favor- 
able to  the  development  of  fishness  as  will  be  explained  under  the  discussion 
of  the  role  of  overworking. 

5.  Fishiness  in  unsalted  butter. 

There  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  salt  takes  part  chemically  in  the  pro- 
duction of  trimethylamine.  Its  action  seems  to  be  entirely  physical  as  ex- 
plained above;  hence  it  may  be  expected  that  fishiness  may  occasionally 
occur  in  the  absence  of  salt.  In  such  cases,  however,  the  corresponding 
salted  samples  will  develop  fishiness  sooner  and  of  a greater  intensity. 

Why  Does  an  Acid  Condition  Favor  the  Development  of  Fishi- 
ness in  Storage  Butter? 

2.  Acids  favor  the  hydrolysis  of  lecithin. 

That  lecithin  is  hydrolyzed  by  acids,  strong  and  dilute,  has  been  shown 
by  a number  of  investigators:  Briegerll5,  Riedel124  Moruzzi117,  Molen- 

greau  and  Prient113,  Diakonow125,  Hefftner126,  and  Gilson127 ; Mahlengreau 
and  Prient  obtained  96.03%  of  the  nitrogen  from  lecithin  by  hydrolyzing  for 
72  hours  on  a water  bath  in  a N /10  acetic  acid  solution.  Diakonow,  Gilson, 


42 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


Hefftner,  and  Moruzzi  showed  that  dilute  acids  hydrolyzed  lecithin  to  some 
extent  even  in  the  cold.  Hammersten  and  Heddin12g  state  that  lecithin  is 
slowly  decomposed  by  dilute  acids. 

It  has  been  shown  in  this  work  that  hydrolysis  (Table  XVII)  greatly 
accelerates  the  production  of  trimethylamine  from  lecithin.  Our  conclusion 
is  that  part  of  the  role  of  the  acid  in  the  development  of  fishiness  is  that  it 
hydrolyzes  the  lecithin. 

2.  Acidity  aids  oxidation  in  butter. 

It  has  been  found  by  Dyer39  and  Rogers  et  al29,  that  the  rate  of  oxidation 
in  butter  is  proportional  to  the  acidity.  This  was  determined  by  measuring 
the  free  oxygen  content  of  butters  of  different  acidity.  This  is  in  harmony 
with  our  results  in  Table  XVII,  where  we  found  that  the  presence  of  acid 
caused  an  increase  of  4.96  in  the  per  cent  of  trimethylamine  in  the  unhy- 
drolyzed lecithin  Emulsions,  while  in  the  hydrolyzed  samples  it  caused  an 
average  increase  of  7.43%.  Our  explanation  of  these  results  is  that  the 
acidity  favors  both  the  hydrolysis  of  lecithin  and  the  oxidation  of  the  choline 
into  trimethylamine.  The  rate  at  which  the  choline  becomes  available  for 
oxidation  by  the  hydrolysis  of  the  lecithin  by  the  dilute  acid  is  slower  than 
the  rate  of  oxidation  of  the  choline  to  trimethylamine.  For  that  reason, 
acid  caused  a greater  increase  in  the  trimethylamine  yield  in  the  hydrolyzed 
lecithin  series  where  the  choline  is  already  free,  than  in  the  unhydrolyzed 
lecithin  series  where  the  amount  of  choline  available  for  oxidation  was 
limited  by  the  rate  of  hydrolysis. 

3.  Acids  in  the  cream  cause  the  absorption  of  metals. 

The  solubility  of  the  metals  with  which  the  cream  comes  into  contact  is 
proportional  to  the  acidity  of  the  cream.  It  has  been  found  by  Weigmann22, 
Marcas  and  Hugge69,  Kooper7l,  and  Rogers  et  al29,  that  an  appreciable 
amount  of  iron  and  copper  may  be  dissolved  by  sour  cream  in  contact  with 
utensils.  The  manner  in  which  these  metals  cause  fishiness  will  be  dis- 
cussed later. 

Is  Trimethylamine  Formed  By  Oxidization  or  Hydrolysis? 

The  work  of  a number  of  investigators  shows  that  choline  yields  traces 
of  trimethylamine  quite  readily  on  boiling  in  neutral,  acid  and  alkaline 
solutions.  It  is  not  certain  by  what  process  this  trimethylamine  is  formed, 
but  the  work  of  Wurtz129  indicates  that  it  is  hydrolytic.  Wurtz  found  that 
concentrated  choline  solutions  yielded  trimethylamine  and  ethylene  glycol  on 
boiling. 

While  we  must  consider  it  possible  that  the  development  of  fishiness  in 
butter,  the  production  of  trimethylamine  from  choline,  is  hydrolytic,  the 
indications  are  that  it  is  actually  a process  of  oxidation.  The  observations 
of  a number  of  investigators  that  fishiness  in  butter  is  favored  by  over- 


The  .fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


43 


working  indicates  oxidation.  Our  results  given  in  Tables  VII,  VIII  and 
XVII  show  that  in  the  chemical  decomposition  of  lecithin  into  trimethyla- 
mine  oxidizing  agents  such  as  hydrogen  peroxide,  pure  oxygen,  and  catalytic 
agents  increased  the  production  of  trimethylamine  very  decidedly.  If  we 
conclude  that  the  production  of  trimethylamine  is  an  oxidative  process,  we 
can  then  offer  a rational  hypothesis  to  explain  the  effect  of  overworking  and 
the  effect  of  iron  and  copper  salts. 

Why  Does  Overworking  of  Butter  Favor  the  Development  of 

Fishiness? 

1.  Ovenvorking  may  increase  the  air  content  of  butter. 

An  increase  in  the  oxygen  content  of  butter  suggests  itself  at  once  as  the 
explanation  for  the  effect  of  overworking.  Rogerslg  actually  found  an 
increase  of  10%  by  overworking  by  means  of  a spatula.  He  also  found 
a small  but  distinct  increase  in  normally  overworked  butter.  Later  Rogers 
et  al2Q  showed  that  overworked  butter  does  not  necessarily  contain  more 
air  than  normally  worked  butter.  Hunziker5l  is  of  the  same  opinion. 

It  is  certain  that  the  effect  of  overworking  cannot  be  explained  entirely 
on  the  basis  of  an  increase  in  oxygen  content.  While  we  must  still  consider 
this  factor  as  being  of  possible  minor  importance,  we  must  look  for  other 
factors. 

2.  Overworking  distributes  the  incorporated  air  more  thoroughly. 

The  most  plausible  explanation  for  the  fact  that  overworking  favors  the 
development  of  fishiness  in  butter  is  that  in  overworking  the  grain  of  the 
butter  is  destroyed  and  the  air  more  finely  divided  so  that  a larger  area  of 
the  butter  is  in  contact  with  the  air.  If  the  diameter  of  the  air  bubbles  is 
reduced  one-half  the  surface  area  of  the  bubbles  is  doubled.  This  should 
cause  an  increase  in  the  rate  of  oxidation,  and  Rogers  et  al29  has  actually 
found  that  in  an  overworked  sample  during  cold  storage  the  decrease  in  the 
oxygen  content  of  the  sample  was  about  50%  greater  than  in  a normally 
worked  sample. 

3.  Overworking  makes  the  solution  of  the  lecithin  in  the  brine  more 
complete. 

Overworking  distributes  the  brine  of  the  butter  more  thoroughly,  as  well 
as  the  air,  and  favors  the  solution  of  the  lecithin  in  the  brine.  In  that  way 
overworking  brings  about  a thorough  mixture  and  contact  of  all  the  factors 
concerned,  viz.:  lecithin,  acids,  salt,  oxygen,  and  catalytic  agents  such  as 
iron  and  copper.  This  naturally  leads  to  an  acceleration  in  the  production 
of  trimethylamine  from  the  lecithin. 


44 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


Why  Do  Iron  and  Copper  Salts  Favor  the  Development  of 

Fishiness? 

It  is  a well  known  fact  that  metals  that  can  readily  be  changed  from  a 
higher  to  a lower  valency  and  vice  versa  will  act  as  oxygen  carriers,  i.  e., 
they  will  catalyze  oxidation  reactions.  Thus  it  may  be  expected  that  iron 
and  copper  will  catalyze  the  production  of  trimethylamine  from  lecithin. 

That  iron  and  copper  salts  actually  catalyze  the  oxidation  of  organic 
substances  has  been  demonstrated  hy  a number  of  investigators.  Neuberg 
and  Blumenthal130  were  able  to  isolate  and  identify  isovaleric  aldehyde  as 
an  oxidation  product  resulting  from  the  action  of  ferrous  sulphate  and 
hydrogen  peroxide  on  gelatine.  Orgler131  produced  a strong  fruity  odor  by 
oxidizing  egg  albumin  with  copper  sulphate  and  hydrogen  peroxide;  he 
identified  acetone  in  the  distillate  from  such  a mixture.  Rogers  et  al29 
found  a substance  which  gave  a marked  iodoform  test  in  the  distillate 
from  skimmilk  to  which  ferrous  sulphate  had  been  added  and  allowed  to 
stand  at  room  temperature  for  12  days.  Pitz132  produced  pungent  dis- 
agreeable compounds  by  the  action  of  iron  sulphate,  and  hydrogen  peroxide 
in  salt  solutions  of  casein  and  iact-albumin.  Hunziker  and  Hosman72 
demonstrated  that  copper  salts  could  cause  oxidation  in  butter  which  would 
have  a deleterious  effect  upon  the  flavor  and  keeping  quality. 

Why  Does  Pasteurizing  Tend  to  Eliminate  Fishiness? 

It  has  been  shown  that  pasteurization  generally  tends  to  eliminate  fishiness 
in  storage  butter.  In  looking  for  an  explanation  the  first  thought  that 
suggests  itself  is  that  this  is  due  to  the  destruction  of  the  bacteria.  However, 
his  idea  is  not  in  accord  with  the  well  supported  conclusion  that  fishiness 
is  not  caused  by  biological  agencies.  Moreover,  it  has  been  shown  that 
pasteurization  at  180°  F.  for  one  minute,  although  just  as  efficient  in  the 
destruction  of  bacteria  as  pasteurization  at  145°  F._  for  30  minutes,  is  not 
as  efficient  in  preventing  fishiness.  Our  conclusion  is  that  the  effect  of 
pasteurization  in  preventing  fishiness  is  not  due  to  the  destruction  of  bacteria. 

1.  Pasteurisation  May  Affect  the  Solubility  of  Lecithin. 

Thunberg133,  Warburg  and  Meyerhof134,  Maclean135,  and  Mathews136 
have  found  that  lecithin  readily  absorbs  oxygen  and  becomes  less  soluble. 
Whether  the  solubility  of  lecithin  in  brine  is  affected  in  this  way  is  not 
stated,  but  in  all  probability  it  is.  Such  an  oxidation  of  lecithin  can  take 
place  more  readily  at  145°  F.  in  30  minutes  than  at  180°  F.  in  one  minute, 
since  at  145°  F.  the  cream  is  continually  agitated  and  exposed  to  the  air  for 
a comparatively  longer  period  of  time.  Thus  it  may  be  that  in  this  way 
pasteurization,  making  the  lecithin  less  soluble  and  less  available  for  de- 
composition, reduces  the  amount  of  trimethylamine  formed  to  a minimum. 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


45 


2.  Pasteurisation  Reduces  the  Lecithin  Content  of  the  Butter. 

References  cited  earlier  in  the  bulletin  show  that  lecithin  can  be  hydrolyzed 
by  dilute  and  weak  acids  such  as  acetic  and  lactic  acids.  It  is  then  to  be 
expected  that  pasteurization  at  145°  F.  for  30  minutes  owing  to  the  longer 
duration  of  heating  will  hydrolyze  more  of  the  lecithin  than  will  pasteuriza- 
tion at  180°  F.  for  1 minute,  and  that  the  more  acid  the  cream  the  more 
lecithin  will  be  hydrolyzed.  Bordas  and  Raczkowskig3-87  have  shown  that 
the  lecithin  content  was  reduced  14%  of  the  original  content  in  the  raw 
milk  by  heating  for  30  minutes  at  60°  C.  If  sour  milk  had  been  used 
undoubtedly  the  hydrolysis  would  have  been  even  higher.  Cusick55  has 
shown  that  butter  made  from  pasteurized  high  acid  cream  is  lower  in 
lecithin  than  the  unpasteurized  samples.  Supplee50  found  that  the  lecithin 
content  of  butter  made  from  pasteurized  ripened  cream  was  0.0433%  as 
compared  with  0.0723%  in  the  butter  made  from  the  same  cream  unpas- 
teurized. Dornic  and  Daire99  found  similar  results.  It  is  thus  seen  that 
pasteurization  at  145°  F.  for  30  minutes  actually  decreases  the  lecithin 
content  of  the  butter.  In  the  pasteurization  the  lecithin  is  partly  hydrolyzed 
liberating  choline,  the  mother  substance  of  the  trimethylamine.  Choline  is 
very  soluble  in  water  and  will  therefore  be  lost  in  the  buttermilk,  thus 
reducing  the  amount  of  trimethylamine  that  can  be  made  even  under  com- 
plete decomposition  of  the  remaining  lecithin  to  such  a point  that  it  will 
not  become  evident  as  a fishy  flavor. 

Thus  our  conclusion  is  that  pasteurization  tends  to  eliminate  fishiness  first 
because  it  reduces  the  lecithin  content  of  the  butter,  and  second,  because 
the  lecithin  that  remains  unhydrolyzed  in  the  butter  is  less  soluble  and 
will  therefore  decompose  less  readily. 

Summary 

1.  Fishiness  is  one  of  the  most  common  of  the  storage  butter  defects, 
and  on  account  of  its  offensive  nature,  it  causes  severe  losses  due  to 
the  resulting  cut  in  the  price. 

2.  The  conditions  that  favor  the  development  of  fishiness  in  butter  are : — 

(1)  A high  acidity  in  the  cream. 

(2)  High  salt  content  in  the  butter. 

(3)  Overworking  of  the  butter. 

(4)  The  presence  of  iron  or  copper  salts. 

3.  The  theory  has  been  advanced  that  the  fishy  substance  is  trimethylamine 
produced  from  lecithin  in  the  butter.  This  theory  has  not  been  generally 
accepted,  nor  is  there  any  agreement  on  the  agency  which  is  supposed 
to  cause  the  decomposition  of  the  lecithin  into  trimethylamine. 

4.  The  experiments  here  described  have  demonstrated  that  lecithin  will 
undergo  a purely  chemical  decomposition  at  room  or  incubator  tempera- 
tures. The  conditions  that  caused  the  greatest  yield  of  trimethylamine 
from  the  lecithin  coincide  with  the  conditions  that  are  known  to  favor 
the  development  of  the  fishy  flavor  in  butter. 


46 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  57 


5.  The  addition  of  trimethylamine  lactate  to  butter  at  the  rate  of  100 
parts  per  million  of  butter  caused  a distinct  fishy  flavor. 

6.  Trimethylamine  was  isolated  from  the  samples  of  fishy  butter  examined. 

7u  Butter  made  from  cream  to  which  lecithin  had  been  artificially  added 

became  fishy  more  readily  than  the  untreated  butter  made  from  the 
same  lot  of  cream. 

8.  Bad.  ichthyosmius  and  another  organism  that  had  been  isolated  from 
fishy  cream  produced  trimethylamine  from  lecithin  under  favorable  con- 
ditions, but  failed  entirely  to  grow  in  the  presence  of  salt  and  acid  in 
concentrations  such  as  would  be  found  in  the  brine  of  butter.  With 
the  additional  inhibiting  effect  of  low  temperatures  in  storage,  it  is  very 
unlikely  that  bacteria  are  the  cause  of  fishiness. 

9.  The  above  fwo  organisms  failed  to  produce  trimethylamine  from  skim- 
milk  and  casein  solutions. 

10.  The  production  of  trimethylamine  was  more  rapid  from  hydrolyzed 
lecithin  emulsions  than  from  the  unhydrolyzed  lecithin  emulsions,  both 
by  the  chemical  decomposition  and  by  means  of  the  above  two  organisms. 

11.  The  conclusion  is  that  the  development  of  fishiness  in  storage  butter 
is  due  to  the  chemical  decomposition  of  the  lecithin  normally  present  in 
butter. 

12.  Salt  favors  the  development  of  fishiness  because: 

(1)  Salt  intensifies  flavors  in  general. 

(2)  Salt  brine  is  a good  solvent  for  lecithin. 

(3)  Salt  lowers  the  freezing  point  of  the  brine. 

(4)  Additional  working  is  required  to  incorporate  the  salt. 

13.  Acid  favors  the  development  of  fishiness  because : 

(1)  Acids  favor  the  hydrolysis  of  the  lecithin. 

(2)  Acids  favor  the  oxidative  processes  in  butter. 

(3)  Acids  cause  the  cream  to  dissolve  iron  and  copper  from  the 

utensils. 

14.  Overworking  favors  the  development  of  fishiness  because: 

(1)  Overworking  may  increase  the  air  content  of  the  butter. 

(2)  Overworking  distributes  the  incorporated  air  more  thoroughly.. 

(3)  Overworking  makes  the  solution  of  the  lecithin  in  the  brine 

more  complete. 

lo.  Iron  and  copper  favor  the  development  of  fishiness  in  butter  because 
they  act  as  catalysts  in  the  oxidation  of  organic  substances. 

16.  Pasteurization  tends  to  eliminate  fishiness  because: 

(1)  During  pasteurization  the  lecithin  readily  absorbs  oxygen 

and  becomes  lqss  soluble. 

(2)  Pasteurization  causes  the  hydrolysis  of  the  lecithin  to  some 

extent;  the  products  of  hydrolysis  are  lost  in  the  butter- 
milk, so  that  the  resulting  butter  cannot  possibly  yield  as 
much  trimethylamine  as  the  unpasteurized  butter. 


The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


47 


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The  Fishy  Flavor  in  Butter 


51 


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Woods  & Co.,  N.  Y.)  p.  98,  1921. 


$30-/ 

bV/5 Jui, 


Research  Bulletin  58 


December,  1923 

i 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and 
Country 


J.  H.  KOLB 


AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  WISCONSIN  AND  UNITED  STATES  DEPARTMENT 
OF  AGRICULTURE  CO-OPERATING 


MADISON 

1923 


THE  SIX-FOLD  SERVICE  RELATION  OF  TOWN 
AND  COUNTRY 

The  Economic  service  includes  merchandising,  marketing, 
and  financing.  The  merchant  by  selling  his  wares  to  the 
farmer  contributes  directly  to  the  latter’s  standard  of  living. 
Marketing  is  the  reverse  side  of  the  relationship;  it  is  the 
local  assembling  of  the  farmers’  product  for  world  consump- 
tion. Financing  works  both  ways,  the  farmer  buying  and 
selling  in  town  and  the  merchant  buying  and  selling  from  the 
farmer.  Both  processes  require  financing. 

The  Educational  service  holds  the  key  to  the  future  with 
reference  to  social  attitudes  affecting  town  and  country  re- 
lations. This  service  is  represented  locally  by  schools,  libraries 
and  lyceums  of  various  sorts  for  lectures,  music,  drama  and 
art. 

The  Religious  service  has  to  do  with  those  idealizing  and 
motivating  forces  in  rural  life.  Its  local  representative  is  the 
church  and  its  various  organizations  of  benevolence  and  re- 
ligious education.  It  has  at  its  command  music,  drama, 
beautiful  imagery,  commanding  architecture,  reverent  rituals 
and  inspiring  personalities. 

The  Social  service  is  concerned  with  those  functions 
which  make  for  sociability,  contentment  and  happiness  and 
quite  as  much,  for  those  of  social  welfare  represented  by  pro- 
grams of  health,  charity  or  corrective  work. 

The  Communication  service  has  within  its  grasp  powerful 
means  for  unifying  or  dividing  community  life.  The  channels 
for  understanding  and  communion  are  here.  They  are  such  as 
the  telephone,  telegraph  and  the  radio;  the  mail  service;  the 
newspaper  and  magazines ; transportation  in  all  its  forms ; 
for  the  roads  themselves  become  means  of  communication. 

The  Organization  service.  No  service  relations  can  be 
effective  or  permanent  until  they  are  appropriated,  incorporat- 
ed and  incarnated  within  the  life  of  local  groups  of  people. 
This  organization  service,  then,  whether  of  cooperative  en- 
deavor, of  community  organization  which  is  nothing  more 
than  the  local  harmonizing  and  harnessing  of  all  interests  or 
that  of  leadership  from  within,  become  matters  of  prime  im- 
portance demanding  more  than  a haphazard  or  casual  at- 
tention on  the  part  of  the  town  and  country  community. 

MUTUAL  IMPLICATIONS 

For  the  Town.  For  the  townsman  it  means  that  his  town 
must  become  the  specialized  service  station  for  the  larger 
community.  Each  town  may  well  specialize  in  those  services 
which  it  can  render,  most  efficiently.  This  means,  of  course 
that  no  one  town  and  its  community  can  live  unto  itself  but 
must  work  out  interrelations  with  other  towns  and  their 
communities. 

For  the  Country.  The  implication  for  the  farmer  involves 
the  assumption  of  a keener  responsibility  for  the  larger  com- 
munity life  rather  than  attempting  to  hold  to  a family  or  a 
neighborhood  economy.  The  farmer  is  in  real  need  of  this 
larger  organization  relationship  where  his  own  interests  may 
be  safe-guarded  and  at  the  same  time  united  with  those  of 
his  town  or  city  in  order  to  effect  an  efficiency  commensurate 
with  the  greatly  expanded  needs  of  his  day. 


Service  Relations  of  Town 
and  Country 

THE  SERVICE  ORGANIZATION  OF  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY 

A BRIEF  OF  FINDINGS  AND  PRINCIPLES 


A FEW  HEADLINES  selected  at  random  from  the  day’s  local 
press,  such  as  “Farmers  and  Townsmen  Join  Forces,”  “Farm 
and  City  Groups  Combine,”  “Working  It  Out  Together”,  and 
“Big  Town  and  Country  Meeting  Tonight”,  indicate  an  awakening 
public  consciousness  regarding  the  mutual  dependence  of  groups  in 
society.  The  experiences  of  the  past  years,  the  uncertainty  of  the 
present,  and  the  rapid  economic  and  social  changes  overtaking  old 
institutions  are  slowly  but  surely  ^focusing  general  attention  upon  the 
social  arrangements  in  rural  life.  The  present  study  analyzes  a very 
small  segment  or  part  of  the  whole  in  an  attempt  to  make  a little 
clearer  this  great  mesh  of  relationship.  The  farmer  and  his  family 
are  continually  dependent  for  all  manner  of  services  upon  agencies 
lying  beyond  the  gate  of  their  farmstead.  They  join  with  neighbors 
for  some  of  these  services  in  neighborhood  groups  and  just  beyond 
these  they  find  themselves  in  contact  with  the  small  town  or  village. 

Changing  Relations  of  Town  and  Country.  This  study  becomes 
an  examination  of  the  tendencies  and  forces  which  are  reconstruct- 
ing the  relations  between  the  town  and  the  country.  Some  of  the 
factors  for  change  which  have  been  creeping  in  are  shiftings  and 
shrinkings  in  rural  population,  greatly  increased  facilities  for  com- 
munication and  transportation  and  the  readjustments  in  local  social 
and  economic  institutions  and  organizations  made  necessarjr  by  the 
greatly  expended  needs  and  the  increasing  complexity  of  rural  life. 

An  indication  of  the  direction  which  these  tendencies  are  taking  in 
this  changing  relationship  may  be  seen  from  a study  of  open  country 
neighborhood  or  primary  groups  made  in  the  same  area.1  Two  general 
conclusions  were  drawn  from  this  study.  First,  that  the  neighborhood 
groups  are  becoming  fewer  in  number  although  they  have  a tendency 
to  become  somewhat  larger  in  size  and  second,  that  those  neighbor - 


^Kolb,  J.  H.  Rural  Primary  Groups,  Res.  Bui.  51,  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Uni.  Wis. 
Madison,  1921 


2 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


hood  groups  in  close  proximity  to  a town  or  village  tend  to  give  way 
first.  Considered  from  the  basis  of  services  rendered  such  as  economic, 
educational,  social  and  the  like,  of  the  121  neighborhood  groups  found 
in  the  county,  60  were  performing  for  their  people  one  or  more 
services  out  of  a possible  six;  40  were  rendering  two  services  but 
only  five  groups  were  discovered  giving  as  many  as  four  services.  For 
the  balance  of  the  services  these  farming  people  were  dependent  up- 
on nearby  towns.  Those  who  had  worked  out  no  local  arrangements 
of  their  own,  were  completely  dependent  upon  the  town.  This'  points 
to  a linkage  of  town  and  country  in  respect  to  many  of  the  larger 
community  relations. 

But  elements  of  change  are  also  in  evidence  in  the  town  and 
village  itself.  Some  of  the  underlying  forces  are  the  same  as  those 
influencing  the  neighborhood  or  primary  groups  although  the  local 
manifestations  may  be  somewhat  different.  For  example,  the  farmer 
is  no  longer  bound  to  any  single  town.  His  area  of  service  relations 
has  been  greatR  expanded.  This  becomes  a challenge  to  the  former 
channels  of  relationships  which  have  been  more  or  less  taken  for 
granted.  Here  are  two  groups  therefore,  the  town  and  the  country 
struggling  to  make  their  adjustments  to  modern  demands  and  in  the 
process  they  are  finding  themselves  held  together  by  common  tasks  and 
by  problems  of  an  ever  changing  character.  Many  of  these  problems 
to  be  sure,  are  common  to  any  such  areas  of  reorganization  or  of  dis- 
organization in  whatever  section  of  society  they  may  occur. 

The  Areas  Studied.  All  of  Dane  County  was  considered  for  certain 
parts  of  the  study.  Four  towns  in  the  eastern  part  were  then  selected 
for  intensive  work.  The  towns  themselves  were  first  studied  and  then 
farm  families  living  in  their  service  areas  were  visited. 

Dane  County  is  fairly  typical  of  the  dairy  section  of  the  southern 
part  of  the  state  and  the  region  studied  is  also  one  of  the  two  largest 
tobacco  producing  areas  in  the  state.  Elkhorn,  in  Walworth  County 
and  Waupaca,  in  Waupaca  County  were  studied  in  the  same  manner 
to  serve  as  checks  upon  tendencies  discovered  in  the  first  county. 
Waupaca  boasts  of  being  the  “Potato  Capital”  of  the  state;  and  Elk- 
horn  is  proud  of  its  established  dairy  business  lying  within  the  Chicago 
whole-milk  area  as  well  as  of  its  stable  and  prosperous  population.  The 
Elkhorn  area  represents  one  in  which  the  old  limitation  of  rural 
isolation  is  reduced  to  a minimum.  Cement  highways  radiate  in  every 
direction,  telephone  wires  line  every  roadside  and  practically  every 
farm  has  its  car  or  truck  or  both. 

The  project  was  formulated  in  such  a way  as  to  examine  in  close 
detail  a limited  area  but  in  a comparatively  wide  range  of  relationships. 
The  purpose  was  to  bring  into  relief  this  particular  phase  of  social  or- 
ganization and  to  clear  the  way  for  other  detailed  studies. 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


3 


TOWN  AND  COUNTY  INTERDEPENDENCIES 

“Servicetown  is  your  city,  Mr.  Farmer.  Without  you  it  would  not 
be  here  today.  It  is  for  you  and  through  you  that  it  lives,”  dramatically 
declares  a country  editor  in  trying  to  arouse  the  various  elements  in  his 
community  to  the  importance  of  their  common  weal.  He  then  suggests 
that  it  has  taken  years  td  develop  some  of  the  attitudes  and  antagon- 
isms between  town  and  country,  and  that  probably  it  will  take  years  of 
hard  work  to  repair  the  seams.  In  the  background  for  such  philosophiz- 
ing, of  course,  lie  the  historic  facts  surrounding  the  origin  of  the 
American  small  town.  A recent  visitor  from  Denmark  spoke  casually 
of  the  great  inconvenience  of  gathering  up  the  milk  each  day  from 
the  many  widely  separated  farms  and  said  that  the  common  village  milk 
depot  used  in  his  country  was  much  handier.  This  is  typical  of  the 
many  differences  arising  from  the  fact  that  many  American  country 
towns,  in  contrast  to  those  of  the  Old  World,  came  after  the  settle- 
ment of  the  separate  farms,  and  did  not  become  the  residence  centers 
for  the  farm  families.  These  centers  are  not  so  likely  to  possess  the 
primary  group  characteristics  so  evident  in  the  country  neighborhood 
settlements  of  an  early  day.  The  enterprisers,  speculators,  merchants 
of  the  town  “make  their  living  off  the  the  farmer”,  the  farmers  used  to 
say.  The  day  of  interpendencies,  however,  has  arrived. 

The  Service  Relationship  Made  Definite.  What  are  these  services  ? 

All  classifications  tend  to  become  arbitrary  but  for  the  sake  of  being 
definite,  it  is  proposed  that  no  rural  community  is  living  up  to  its  op- 
portunity unless  attention  is  being  given  to  at  least  six  fundamental 
services : The  economic,  including  merchandising,  marketing  and 

financing;  the  educational;  the  religious;  the  social;  communication 
and  transportation ; and  that  of  organization  activity  itself.  In  the 
county  of  Dane  there  are  29  towns  and  villages  exclusive  of  the  city 
of  Madison,  and  23  of  these  perform  at  least  five  of  the  listed  services 
for  their  surrounding  rural  territory.  By  services  is  not  meant  any 
idea  of  charity  or  benevolent  gifts,  it  is  rather  a successive  social  re- 
lationship of  useful  offices  where  advantages  are  conferred  and  paid 
for  if  necessary.  It  is  that  which  promotes  the  interest,  happiness  and 
welfare  of  a group  concerned. 

Services  Affect  Directly  Standards  of  Rural  Living.  Since  the 
farmer  and  his  neighbors  are  thus  so  closely  bound  to  the  town,  the 
type  of  services  which  are  available  to  him  and  the  character  of  those 
agencies  which  make  these  services  their  specialty  are  matters  of  first 
importance.  In  no  small  way  this  town  becomes  the  farmers’  gateway 
into  the  world.  The  gate  swings  both  ways,  however,  toward  the 
farmer  as  goods  and  services  are  passed  to  him  by  the  town  from  the 
world,  and  away  from  him  as  he  passes  his  goods  and  services  on 


4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


through  the  town.  If  the  rural  community  is  to  progressively  raise  its 
standards,  goods  and  services  must  be  increased  to  meet  these  needs. 
This  means  a distribution  by  local  centers  and  agencies  capable  and 
determined  to  augment  their  qualities  and  quantities.  This  has  specific 
reference  not  only  to  those  generally  recognized  elements  in  a physical 
standard  of  life,  but  also  to  those  making  up  the  sociability,  the 
aesthetic,  the  religious  or  the  educational.  The  correlation  between 
such  standards  and  the  store  window  display,  the  advertising  circular 
or  the  spirit  in  the  school  room  have  become  very  evident  during  the 
course  of  study.  In  such  a program  there  can  be  little  opportunity 
for  an  epidemic  of  booster  clubs  or  noisy  campaigns  for  “shoe  string” 
factories  for  the  town  but  rather  a scientific,  progressive  development 
of  the  agricultural  landed  area  lying  around  about  each  town.  The 
one  principle  in  the  situation  clearly  revealed  during  the  course  of  in- 
vestigation is  that  of  the  necessity  for  mutual  understanding  and  action. 


THE  TOWN  MEETS  AN  OPPORTUNITY 

In  any  scheme  of  relationships  where  interdependencies  are  involved 
there  are  at  least  two  parties  to  the  contract.  In  this  case  it  is  the 
town  and  its  farmers  and  the  farmer  and  his  town.  The  findings  re- 
garding the  first  of  these  will  next  be  considered. 

Some  Characteristics  of  the  Small  Town.  As  an  aggregation  of 
service  agencies  of  various  sorts,  the  town  presents  interesting 
characteristics.  There  are  close  correlations  between  the  size  of  the 
town  and  the  kind  and  number  of  agencies  which  tend  to  collect  there. 
In  the  very  small  type  of  about  one  hundred  population,  there  is  found  a 
couple  of  general  stores,  a garage  and  some  sort  of  a produce  or 
shipping  concern  for  the  marketing  of  the  farm  or  dairy  products. 
As  the  three  hundred  population  class  is  passed  the  number  and  kinds 
of  agencies  increase  rapidly.  Among  the  commercial  concerns  the 
tendency  after  the  one  thousand  class  is  reached,  is  to  have  a decrease 
in  number  of  the  general  types  and  a sharp  increase  in  the  specialized 
store  such  as  a grocery,  shoe  or  hardware  establishment.  When  all 
types  of  service  agencies  are  plotted  in  relation  to  town  populations, 
the  merchandising,  personal  and  professional  services  show  a definite 
tendency  to  increase  greatly  with  the  size  of  the  town.  The  other 
agencies  as  communication,  financial  or  educational  maintain  an  even 
tenor  in  the  average  per  town  comparison. 

The  ratio  of  town  to  general  trade  area  population  presents  an 
interesting  characteristic.  Some  of  the  small  centers  rendering  less 
than  five  services  have  difficulty  in  maintaining  a 30  to  70  per  cent  ratio 
in  favor  of  the  trade  area.  The  next  group  of  towns  near  or  a little 
above  the  five  hundred  class  and  performing  most  of  the  services  but 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country  5 

in  no  specialized  form,  has  an  average  ratio  of  about  30  to  70 
per  cent  ip  favor  of  the  trade  area.  From  this  point  the  larger  per- 
centages for  the  country  side  of  the  equation  are  slowly  reduced  as 
the  size  of  the  town  increases. 

When  the  town  and  country  population  are  compared  on  the  basis 
of  the  number  of  people  required  for  service  agencies,  it  is  found  that 
there  are  less  people  per  church,  for  example  in  and  about  the  small 
towns  than  for  those  of  larger  size.  Expressed  in  the  other  way,  there 
are  more  churches  per  hundred  population  in  and  about  the  small  than 
the  larger  towns.  This  does  not  mean  more  institutions  per  town 
necessarily,  but  small  volume  per  agencies  and  in  many  cases  a con- 
sequently less  efficient  rendering  of  the  service.  This  general  tendency 
holds  for  most  of  the  types  of  agencies  with  the  decided  exception  in 
the  cases  of  the  personal  and  professional  service  and  that  of  the 
social  and  organizational  activities.  In  these  cases  it  appears  that  it  is 
actually  inadequacy  in  the  service  due  to  lack  of  a sufficient  number  of 
agencies. 

The  volume  of  business  measured  in  dollars  for  the  smaller  towns 
in  the  vicinity  of  five  hundred  population  but  below  one  thousand, 
when  divided  between  country  and  town  was  in  a ratio  of  about  72  to 
28  per  cent  in  favor  of  the  country.  When  the  thousand  mark  is 
passed  the  percentage  tends  to  drop  to  about  65  per  cent  from  the  coun- 
try. This  relationship,  especially  for  the  merchandising  services,  is  fully 
developed  in  part  two  of  the  study. 

Types  of  Service  Centers  Classified  by  Services  Rendered.  Any  at- 
tempt at  a classification  by  types  must  be  considered  temporary  pend- 
ing further  study  of  more  towns  and  in  more  widely  distributed  areas 
but  for  the  Dane  County  towns  the  following  types  are  in  evidence. 

1.  The  Single  Service  Type.  This  is  usually  an  open  country 

or  cross  roads  stand  where  there  is  a single  service  performed  as  by 

a general  store,  a church  or  school.  It  also  may  be  represented  in 
the  very  small  hamlet  where  the  population  falls  below  one  hundred. 
Centers  of  this  type  were  not  considered  in  this  study  since  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  word  they  are  not  towns  at  all  but  usually  stand 

at  the  service  center  of  a neighborhood  or  primary  group.  These 

centers  were  dealt  with  in  the  previous  investigation  referred  to  as  the 
primary  group  study. 

2.  The  Limited,  Simple  Service  Type.  In  the  county  were  twelve 
centers  of  this  type,  Cottage  Grove  being  the  one  fully  examined.  The 
average  population  for  these  twelve  small  villages  was  250,  the  range 
being  from  about  100  to  about  400.  These  centers  fall  short  in  the 
“Six  Service”  standard.  Their  general  trade  areas  are  relatively 
small  and  the  specialized  service  areas  are  usually  completely  lacking. 
Open  country  neighborhoods  do  not  appear  within  the  trade  zones. 


6 


, Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


3.  The  Semi-Complete  or  Intermediate  Type.  Fifteen  of  this  type 
were  found  in  the  county  or  on  its  immediate  border.  Their  average 
population  was  800  with  a range  of  from  about  400  to  just  a little  over 
1,200.  This  type  is  found  most  frequently  in  the  area  studied  and  stands 
in  a sort  of  intermediate  relation  to  the  larger  centers  which  may  be 
county  seats  or  have  certain  characteristics  often  associated  with 
county  seats  towns.  Cambridge,  Deerfield,  Mazomanie  and  Black 
Earth,  the  towns  studied  most  closely,  come  easily  in  this  classification. 
Most  of  the  towns  in  this  class  render  the  six  services  but  are  frequent- 
ly lacking  in  some  essential  as  for  example,  Cambridge  is  without  its 
railroad,  and  Deerfield  pays  small  attention  to  social  and  organization 
activity.  The  general  trade  areas  of  this  type  of  center  are  relatively 
large  and  the  amount  of  business  from  the  farm  source  is  nearly  75  per 
cent  of  the  total.  The  open  country  neighborhoods  are  not  found  close 
by  and  the  specialized  ares  are  small  or  entirely  absent. 

4.  The  Complete  and  Partially  Specialized  Type.  In  the  county  or 
its  immediate  vicinity  and  extending  their  service  influence  into  the 
county,  were  seven  towns  of  this  type.  Their  average  population  was 
2,750,  ranging  from  about  1,200  to  just  a little  over  5,000.  The  type  in 
the  county  is  clearly  illustrated  by  Mt.  Horeb  in  the  western  part  and 
Stoughton  in  the  eastern  part.  Elkhorn  and  Waupaca,  both  county 
seats,  are  also  good  examples.  The  Stoughton  area  presented  a situa- 
tion entirely  different  from  Cottage  Grove,  Cambridge  and  Deerfield. 
It  is  sufficiently  large  to  render  all  the  services  represented  in  the 
questionnaire.  The  farmers  either  trade  at  Stoughton  or  they  don’t. 
Their  choices  are  not  so  much  in  the  matter  of  towns  but  in  the  matter 
of  stores  in  the  town.  Since  the  town  is  larger  the  farmers  take  more 
for  granted,  they  feel  no  particular  sense  of  responsibilhy  for  its 
succcess,  their  attitude  becomes  less  personal  and  they  depend  more 
largely  upon  their  own  small  clubs  and  organizations  for  their  more 
intimate  and  social  relationships.  Therefore,  open  country  neighbor- 
hood groups  are  to  be  found  in  the  vicinity.  The  “general  trade” 
areas  are  relatively  smaller  than  in  third  type,  but  the  specialized 
areas  are  much  larger. 

5.  The  Urban  and  Highly  Specialized  Type.  This  type,  of  course, 
is  represented  by  the  urban  city  center.  Its  relation  to  the 
rural  community  and  to  agriculture  is  indirect.  Its  interests  be- 
come more  divided  with  manufacturing  and  wholesaling  interests. 
Madison,  Milwaukee  and  Janesville  represent  this  type  for  the  area 
under  study.  There  are  doubtless  other  types  which  studies  in  other 
sections  could  reveal  between  the  city  just  above  the  5,000  classification 
and  Madison  a center  of  nearly  40,000  population.  This  type  is 
characterized  by  highly  specialized  service  agencies.  It  is  to  these 
centers  that  farmers  and  their  wives  come  for  purchases  where 
quality,  variety  and  chance  for  a discriminating  selection  are  the  de- 


Service  Relations  oj  Town  and  Country 


7 


termining  factors.  Their  “general  trade”  areas  are  relatively  small 
and  the  specialized  areas  are  very  large.  Country  neighborhood! 
centers  tend  to  cluster  about  them  a comparatively  few  miles  beyond 
the  city  limits. 

These  centers  are  incomplete  in  the  sense  that  they  cannot  cater 
to  the  general  trade  needs  with  emphasis  upon  quick  conveniences  to 
the  buyer,  as  can  the  general  store  in  the  small  town  where  the  farmer 
can  leave  his  list  of  goods  while  he  goes  away  to  have  the  horses  shod 
and  returns  to  find  all  his  requirements  met  by  this  same  store  and 
the  same  salesman.  Or  again,  a farmer  does  not  expect  to  find  spools 
of  barbed  wire  fencing  decorating  the  show  windows  of  the  hardware 
store  “on  the  square”  in  Madison. 


The  Interrelation  of  the  Types.  A schematic  representation  of  the 
distribution  of  these  various  types  is  shown  in  a conventionalized  curve 


Chart  I. — A Theoretical  Graph  Indicating  the  Distance  Relation  of 

Centers  of  the  Five  Types. 


in  Chart  I.  If  this  is  the  correct  theoretical  picture,  a farmer  in  an 
area  with  a comparable  density  of  population  and  transportation 
facility  may  expect  to  find  an  open  country  stand  or  small  hamlet 
within  a distance  of  about  two  and  a half  to  three  miles  from  his  farm. 
He  may  find  a center  of  the  second  type  about  four  miles  away  and  if 
he  travels  to  the  fourth  type  about  fifteen  or  sixteen  miles  distance,  he 
must  pass  through  another  of  the  second  type.  As  he  pushes  on 
toward  the  city  center,  the  fifth  type,  between  thirty-five  and  forty 
miles  away,  he  must  again  pass  through  two  other  towns  of  the 


8 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


second  type  and  two  of  the  third.  There  are  seven  of  this  city  type 
of  center  within  a radius  approximating  forty  miles  from  the  city  of 
Madison.2  In  a private  study  made  in  Kansas  the  findings  indicated 
that  towns  of  the  fourth  type,  usually  county  seat  towns,  were  twenty- 
five  to  forty  miles  apart,  that  the  third  or  intermediate  type  were 
twelve  to  twenty  miles  apart  and  the  small  villages  of  the  second  type 
were  separated  six  to  ten  miles.  This  comparison  would  seem  to  be 
indicative  of  a correlation  between  the  density  of  wealth  and  popu- 
lation and  the  size  and  location  of  the  various  types  of  service  centers. 
In  Dane  County,  Wisconsin,  for  example,  the  volume  and  density  of 
these  service  relations  are  such  as  to  make  possible  the  accumulation 
of  service  agencies  in  centers  of  the  third  type  about  every  eight  miles 
and  so  on  through  the  series.  Chart  II  is  drawn  to  show  the  in- 
terrelation of  these  types  respecting  their  size  and  service  areas. 


Chart  II. — A Theoretical  Graph  Indicating  the  Interrelation  of  the 
Service  Areas  for  the  Five  Types  of  Centers. 


The  Trade  Area  Idea.  Undoubtedly  there  is  what  may  be  termed 
a “trade  area”  round  about  each  town  where  families  tend  to  go  for 
general  trading  and  which  they  often  designate  as  their  “home  town”. 
This  study  indicates  that  this  “general  trade”  usually  means  such 
econom.c  services  as  merchandising  in  groceries,  work  clothes  or 
farm  machinery  together  with  banking  and  marketing.  These  areas 
are  not  coextensive  to  be  sure,  but  as  can  be  noted  from  the  maps, 
Figures  4 to  10,  they  do  follow  along  about  the  same  lines.  The 
moment  “trade  area”  is  made  to  mean  a particular  kind  of  trade  or  is 


-Hy  courtesy  of  ilie  advertising  department  cf  Curtis  Publishing  Company. 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


9 


used  in  a technical  sense,  trouble  is  encountered,  for  as  is  clearly 
seen  from  the  maps,  Figures  6 and  8,  trading  in  furniture  and  in  good 
clothing  as  suits  and  women’s  ready-to-wear,  do  not  follow  the 
“general  trade”  lines  nor  any  other.  As  is  pointed  out  in  the  text,  the 
contrast  when  Cottage  Grove  and  Waupaca  are  compared  is  most  strik- 
ing. Nor  do  the  social,  religious  or  organization  service  areas  tend  to 
follow  the  “general  trade”  or  any  other  of  the  economic  service  areas. 
There  is  more  of  a correspondence  in  the  cases  of  the  communication 
services  and  the  high  school  areas  but  even  here  it  is  not  convincing. 
This  would  seem  to  suggest  that  as  this  town  launches  out  to  ex- 
ploit its  opportunities,  it  encounters  natural,  social  cleavages  and  ar- 
rangements and  that  this  mesh  of  resulting  service  relationship  tends  to 
align  itself  in  zones  following  rather  definite  principles.  This 
trade  zone  in  its  relationship  to  the  other  service  zones  will  be  outlined 
in  the  last  section  of  this  first  part  of  the  report. 


BUSINESS  AND  LIVING  EMPHASIS  FOR  AGRICULTURE 

At  the  other  end  of  this  picture  of  service  relationships  stands  the 
farm  home.  It  is  the  initial  production  unit  but  equally  important,  it 
is  the  final  consumption  unit.  Success,  measured  by  even  the  “greatest 
net  return”  depends  quite  as  much  upon  the  household  consumption 
manager  as  upon  the  farmstead  production  manager.  After  all,  in  the 
economic  scheme  of  things,  consumption  becomes  the  reason  and  the 
end  for  production.  This  “wealth  spending”  emphasis  for  agriculture 
is  of  vital  importance  at  the  present  time. 

Standards  of  Consumption  in  Rural  Life.  A close  reciprocal  rela- 
tion exists  between  standards  of  living  and  that  of  the  farming  process. 
Standards  cannot  be  elevated  indefinitely  apart  from  an  economically 
successful  program  of  production  and  marketing  yet  on  the  other  hand, 
big  or  assured  profits  are  no  final  guarantee  of  good  standards  for 
health,  thrift,  justice,  religion,  sociability  or  even  of  permanent 
residence  on  the  land  itself.  Therefore,  there  must  be  a community 
concern  in  those  factors  or  conditions  which  go  to  influence  such  ideals 
and  standards,  for  sQciety  has  a very  large  stake  in  these  home  units 
where  life  has  its  origins. 

“Why”  Co  to  this  Town  to  Spend  Money?  Since  SO  much  is  in- 
volved in  this  matter  of  spending  as  it  relates  to  rural  living  the  question 
of  “why”  the  mrm  family  goes  to  this  or  that  town  to  satisfy  its  needs 
and  wants  becomes  important.  About  787  families  answered  the 
question  as  best  they  could.  Many  times  it  appealed  to  them  as  a 
foolish  question  but  many  times  also  they  really  did  not  know. 


10 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


The  element  of  convenience  or  “nearest”  as  it  was  stated,  figured 
very  largely  in  that  set  of  economic  services  which  can  be  assembled 
under  the  title,  “general  trade”.  This  includes  groceries  and  work 
clothes  to  a large  extent  and  to  a less  extent  farm  machinery  and 
lumber  and  still  less  furniture.  Marketing  and  banking  followed  closely 
this  general  set  of  services.  When  the  question  of  good  clothes  came 
up,  an  entirely  different  situation  was  involved.  This  became  a matter 
of  variety,  selection,  and  quality  without  much  respect  to  distance  since 
this  spending  was  not  a matter  for  weekly  attention  but  arose  per- 
haps two  or  three  times  a year.  Answers  regarding  the  influence  of 
the  six  trade  towns,  the  competing  centers  and  the  mail  order  house 
was  secured  and  are  fully  analyzed  in  the  last  part  of  the  report. 

The  high  percentages  of  “not  specified”  in  a number  of  the  classi- 
fications are  startling.  After  listening  to  hundreds  of  these  answers 
one  is  much  impressed  with  the  seeming  lack  of  attention  and  thought 
given  this  matter  of  spending.  Family  budgets  are  things  unknown. 
The  importance  of  this  cannot  be  overlooked  and  its  correction  may  re- 
quire as  much  “extension”  educational  effort  as  has  been  given  to  per- 
fecting the  catechisms  of  production.  The  agencies  in  the  town  dis- 
pensing these  services  so  closely  related  to  his  living  standards  cannot 
longer  remain  a matter  of  indifference  to  the  farmer.  He  must  assume 
his  share  of  responsibility  for  this  town  of  his  and  arouse  himself  to 
the  fact  that  he  has  outgrown  the  old  household  and  neighborhood 
economy. 

“Why”  Go  to  This  Town  to  Spend  Time?  When  time  is  spent, 
money  is  usually  spent  also  but  for  different  reasons.  As  the  “whys” 
were  called  for  in  that  realm  of  life  including  education,  religion, 
social  life  and  recreation,  an  entirely  new  collection  came  back.  Here 
tradition,  personal  friendships,  blood  ties  and  club,  fraternal  or 
denominational  preference  made  their  claims.  In  this  set  of  factors, 
however,  are  to  be  found  influences  more  direct  and  more  powerful  in 
determining  ideals  and  standards  of  consumption  and  living  than  those 
associated  only  with  the  commercial  considerations.  Despite  this,  the 
farmer  up  to  the  present  has  not  shared  equally  in  the  leadership  and 
management  of  those  agencies  located  in  the  town  which  control  this 
collection  of  services  However,  many  of  these  services  find  expression 
through  local  neighborhood  institutions.  These  services  are  more 
personal  in  character  and  have  been  more  cherished  locally;  in  fact  they 
become  distinguishing  characteristics  of  primary  groups.  This  leads 
directly  again  to  the  natural  social  arrangements  and  organization  dis- 
played by  the  mapping  of  the  service  areas.  These  factors  and  the 
zones  of  service  relationships  must  now  be  related. 

The  Zones  of  Service  Relationships.  Various  attempts  have  been 

made  to  show  the  mesh  of  service  relationships  which  gather  people  into 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country  11 

groups  and  bind  together  town  and  country.  There  are  principles  and 
processes  of  selection  at  work  all  the  time  and  these  can,  with  sufficient 
study,  be  understood.  In  the  first  place,  reference  must  again  be  made 
to  the  neighborhood  group  study  published  as  Research  Bulletin  No. 
51.  Even  casual  observation  of  the  maps  shows  a uniform  absence  of 


Lodi 


Prairie 
du  Sac 
Sa.uA  Ci/y 


Be/I  evil/e 


FIG.  1.— COMPOSITE  SERVICE  AREAS  OF  TOWNS  AND  ACTIVE  NEIGHBOR- 
HOOD GROUPS  IN  WESTERN  DANE  COUNTY 


12 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


such  open  country  neighborhood  groups  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
the  small  towns.  This  indicates  that  this  rural  population  naturally 
looks  to  the  town  for  practically  all  of  its  services ; or  in  one  sense 
here  is  another  group,  small  town  and  immediate  country,  which  has 
primary  group  characteristics.  This  might  be  called  the  village 
neighborhood.  Sometimes  the  farmers  and  villagers  mingle  freely  in 
all  their  service  relationships  and  sometimes  the  farmers  simply  use 
the  village  center  because  of  its  convenience  of  location  for  their  club 
or  personal  group  gatherings.  To  measure  the  extent  of  this  group 
relationship  one  more  map  was  constructed,  Figure  1.  This  represents 
western  Dane  County  as  it  is  divided  from  the  eastern  part  of  the 
county  for  school  administration  purposes.  There  was  a schedule  in 
hand  from  each  farm  family  and  the  vote  or  tabulation  was  made  by 
sections,  that  is,  if  the  majority  of  the  families  depended  on  the  town 
in  question  for  four  out  of  the  six  services,  the  section  was  included 
in  that  town’s  composite  service  area.  The  average  radius  for  such 
areas  for  all  towns  was  4.3  miles.  When  more  than  this  average  dis- 
tance was  traversed  an  increasing  number  of  services  passed  over  into 
the  hands  of  the  active  open  country  neighborhood  groups  or  if 
sufficiently  far  away,  to  agencies  of  competing  towns  and  to  the  larger 
centers.  It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  there  are  likely  to  be  what 
might  be  called  concentric  zones  of  organization  influence  or  drainage 
service  basins  around  each  town  center.  In  the  zones  nearest  the 
center  the  services  are  entirely  discharged  or  it  might  be  said  that 
the  drainage  is  complete  in  the  direction  of  the  town.  In  the  areas 
farther  out  secondary  systems  are  set  up  and  social  water  sheds  ap- 
pear on  an  ever  widening  scale. 

A correlary  of  the  foregoing  observation  is  equally  important, 
namely,  that  many  times  a zone  or  basin  for  one  service  may  lie 
partially  or  entirely  within  the  zone  for  another  service.  For  example, 
the  farm  families  in  the  immediate  zone  of  Cottage  Grove  are  also  in 
the  Deerfield  furniture  zone  for  the  simple  reason  that  there  is  no 
furniture  store  in  Cottage  Grove  The  same  is  true  in  the  matter  of  a 
masonic  lodge.  These  same  families  are  again  by  preference  in  the 
zone  of  the  city  of  Madison  for  women’s  good  winter  coats  This  is  to 
say  that  the  farmer  is  not  to  be  bound  by  any  scheme  of  hierarchical 
group  arrangements  through  which  he  must  climb  to  get  out  into  the 
vcorld.  He  is  at  once  in  contact  both  directly  and  indirectly  with  this 
wider  relationship  of  world  affairs. 

But  what  is  the  character  of  this  group  life  within  these  various 
zones?  If  every  on’e  of  these  service  centers,  whether  open  country  or 
town  of  whatever  type,  could  operate  perfectly  freely  and  without  ob- 
struction the  picture  would  be  a nucleus  surrounded  by  spherical  zones 
of  constantly  increasing  size  but  of  decreasing  intensity  until  finally  they 
would  fade  out  like  the  ripples  in  a still  lake  when  a stone  is  thrown. 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


13 


Fortunately  for  society,  this  artificial  condition  does  not  exist.  The 
effect  of  many  stones  thrown  together,  some  large  some  small,  is  con- 
stantly evident.  In  the  intensive  zones  close  to  the  center  the  bonds 
are  of  the  primary  group  kind,  personal  and  intimate.  The  economic 
are  there,  but  often  they  are  secondary  in  influence,  or  are  just  taken 
for  granted.  The  farmer  has  the  characteristics  of  small  groupishness 
but  then  he  is  not  different  from  others,  for  even  the  university  people 
have  to  have  their  self-electing  fraternities  and  their  exclusive  clubs. 

In  another  zone  and  overlapping  the  first,  if  the  center  is  a town, 
is  a secondary  zone  of  “general  trade”,  banking  and  often  of  high 
school.  The  majority  of  the  centers  here  studied  were  of  the  type 
designated  as  number  3,  the  semi-complete  or  intermediate,  and  Chart  I 
shows  them  about  four  miles  from  those  of  the  second  and  a smaller 
type.  This  zone  tends  to  increase  in  size  with  the  size  of  the  town 
until  the  fourth  type  of  center,  the  complete  and  partially  specialized, 
is  reached.  Then  its  ratio  begins  to  decrease  when  town  and  country 
comparisons  are  made  on  basis  of  population  or  of  the  volume  of  busi- 
ness. As  these  zones  are  followed  out  very  soon  the  eddies  of  influence 
from  the  larger  centers  are  recognized  in  addition  to  those  influences 
exerted  by  the  open  country  groups.  As  these  outer  waves  of  the 
sma.ller  town  type  and  those  of  the  larger  type  meet  and  battle  one 
another  back  and  forth,  one  finds  himself  in  a third  zone  where 
specialization  is  the  element  pulling  this  way  or  that.  This  zone  is 
the  furniture  and  good  clothing  area,  for  example,  which  Figure  18 
showing  the  zones  of  Madison’s  influence,  clearly  illustrates.  It  is 
the  area  for  occasional  and  specialized  personal  or  professional  service 
as  the  larger  center’s  clinic,  or  the  recreational  and  cultural  service  of 
a big  motion  picture  exhibition  or  a musical  concert.  These  relations 
are  indicated  in  schematic  fashion  in  Chart  II  described  above. 

The  Principle  of  Specialization.  With  the  amount  of  detail  given 
to  the  various  service  relationships,  the  implications  should  be  apparent. 
First  of  all.  no  service  center,  large  or  small,  can  live  unto  itself.  The 
mesh  gathers  all  with  its  cords.  That  the  town  needs  the  farmer  and 
the  farmer  needs  the  town  is  a popular  expression  frequently  in  evi- 
dence. But  in  this  scheme  of  things  the  small  center  cannot  hope  to 
make  a success  of  specializing  in  dress  suits  for  example  but  it  can 
rout  the  city  when  it  comes  to  selling  overalls.  Principles  of  merchan- 
dising need  to  be  worked  out  in  relation  to  the  social  organization 
situation  of  the  town.  This  will  doubtless  mean  as  time  goes  on 
and  the  changes  now  in  progress  take  more  definite  effect  that  certain 
agencies  or  even  whole  centers  will  have  to  go  out  of  business  or 
greatly  modify  their  present  service  functions.  It  means  also  that  these 
principles  of  rendering  services  cannot  be  worked  out  successfully  by 
one  center,  selfishly  and  quite  apart  from  all  other  centers.  If 
specialization  means  anything  it  means  that.  Some  of  the  larger  city 
concerns  have  only  recently  learned  this  lesson  at  a high  cost.  Others 


14 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


long  since  have  been  operating  on  the  principle  which  one  concern  in 
St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  uses  in  its  direct  mail  advertising:  “What  you 
can’t  purchase  in  your  home  town  buy  in  St.  Paul  and  at  the  Golden 
Rule.” 

These  same  implications  hold  true  for  all  the  other  agencies.  What 
is  more,  the  converse  of  this  specialization  principle  is  also  commanding. 
One  group  or  agency  cannot  successfully  evade  responsibility  for 
services  which  by  all  indications  of  these  social  relationships  belong  to 
it.  Many  local  communities  have  evidently  been  attempting  this  of  late 
in  the  matter  of  organized  recreation  and  the  result  in  many  cases 
has  been  disastrous.  They  have  been  turning  their  young  people  into 
the  territory  of  other  groups  where  social  control  is  at  its  minimum 
instead  of  adjusting  themselves  to  changed  needs  and  rendering  the 
service  themselves  where  social  control  is  at  its  best. 

Principles  of  Town  and  Country  Organization.  The  task  of  com- 
munity organization  becomes  that  of  harmonizing  and  putting  to  work 
the  various  service  groups  in  a program  of  local  betterment.  At  least 
three  principles  need  consideration  in  such  a program  of  town  and 
country  relations.  First,  the  medium  for  such  organization  is  confidence. 
The  turning  point  is  always  motive,  this  implies  the  great  social  and 
emotional  basis  which  has  been  stressed.  Second,  the  stimulation  of 
a community  consciousness  can  come  through  recognition  of  common 
problems  but  also  through  a recognition  of  the  special  or  group  interests, 
namely  that  of  farmer  and  of  townsmen  separately.  Cooperation  is  built 
upon  equalities.  The  farmer  may  organize  about  his  interests  and 
the  townsman  about  his,  then  come  together  as  a union  of  equals 
ready  to  fight  common  battles.  Third,  confidence  and  fellow  feeling 
are  conditioned  pretty  largely  on  understanding.  This  principle  is  being 
recognized  and  urged  by  many  kinds  of  rural  organizations  and  societies. 
This  result  can  come  about  only  by  a sane  but  constant  education  on 
the  part  of  each  group  regarding  the  work,  the  services,  the  difficulties, 
and  the  importance  of  the  other  group. 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


15 


PART  II 

THE  TOWN  HAS  ITS  FARMERS 

How  Important  Is  t-he  Farmer  In  the  Life  of  the  Town? 

TO  THE  SMALL  town  standing  midway  between  city  and  farm, 
many  characterizations  have  been  given.  Some  of  these  would 
ally  it  with  the  one  and  some  with  the  other.  So  much  emphasis  has 
been  given  to  the  antagonisms  between  town  and  country  which' this 
situation  has  produced  that  it  may  be  well  to  study  and  to  stress  the 
interdependencies.  The  town  is  at  once  recognized  as  a place  where 
folks  live,  a residence  cluster,  but  it  is  much  more ; it  is  a service 
center.  It  is  an  accumulation  of  service  agencies  whose  existence  and, 
therefore,  the  existence  of  the  town  itself,  depend  upon  selling  these 
services  to  the  people  of  the  town  but  also  to  those  of  the  farming 
community  round  about.  Then  the  town  has  an  identity  and  con- 
sciousness all  its  own,  differentiated  from  its  supply  depot,  the  city 
on  the  one  hand  and  its  clientele,  the  outlying  community  on  the 
other. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  part  of  the  study  to  first  examine  the 
town  as  an  aggregation  of  these  service  agencies,  to  discover  the  kind 
and  number  of  agencies  which  tend  to  come  together  in  a center  of 
given  size  or  character.  These  service  agencies  will  then  be  studied 
in  more  detail,  both  those  which  are  commercial  in  purpose  and  those 
which  are  not.  Finally  the  question  will  be  raised  as  to  what  really 
makes  a town,  a town  and  service  center.  All  the  time  the  point  of 
view  suggested  by  the  question  at  the  head  of  the  section  is  to  be  kept 
in  mind:  of  what  importance  is  the  farmer  in  the  life  of  the  town? 

With  this  purpose  in  view,  all  the  towns  in  Dane  county,  were 
given  some  direct  and  personal  study.  Some  of  the  towns  were  ex- 
amined in  greater  detail  and  finally  three  of  them,  Cottage  Grove,  Deer- 
field, and  Cambridge  were  completely  studied  in  every  detail.  Wau- 
paca in  Waupaca  County  and  Elkhorn  in  Walworth  County  were 
studied  to  the  extent  that  they  might  be  used  as  checks  upon  tendencies 
discovered  in  the  other  towns. 


THE  TOWN,  AN  AGGREGATION  OF  SERVICE  AGENCIES 

The  town  will  be  considered  only  as  a service  center  with  its 
agencies  of  various  kinds.  The  residence  feature  will  be  kept  in  the 
background.  The  town  and  its  people  are  for  the  moment  intent  upon 
this  central  purpose  of  selling  and  rendering  services.  Other  activities 
must  not  cloud  the  picture. 


16 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


All  the  Towns  and  Ten  Agencies.  All  the  towns  in  Dane  county 
with  Elkhorn  and  Waupaca  added,  were  examined  for  ten  kinds  of 
commercial  services.  The  question  to  be  answered  is  what  kinds  and 
what  numbers  of  these  commercial  service  agencies  tend  to  gather  in 


Table  1. — Average  Number  of  Ten  Kinds  of  Commercial  Concerns  per  Town  in  All  Towns  in  Dane 
County,  Elkhorn  and  Waupaca 


Towns  by 
size  in 
population 

Num- 
ber of 
towns 
in  class 

Average  Number  of  Business  Concerns  per  Town 

Gen- 

eral 

store 

Gro- 

cery 

Hard- 

ware 

Fur- 

niture 

Lum- 

ber 

and 

coal 

Gar- 

age 

Farm 

and 

dairy 

prod- 

ucts 

Bank 

Com- 

mer- 

cial 

amuse- 

ment 

Manu- 

factur- 

ing 

100  to  300 

11 

2.1 

.3 

.7 

.3 

.7 

1.4 

1.3 

.5 

.3 

.1 

301  to  500 

7 

2.8 

.7 

1.3 

.7 

1.1 

1.7 

2.7 

1.1 

1.4 

1.6 

501  to  1000.... 

6 

3.6 

1.1 

1.0 

1.1 

1.5 

3.1 

2.3 

1.8 

1.6 

1.0 

1001  to  2000 

3 

3.3 

2.6 

2.0 

1.6 

2.3 

5.0 

3.3 

2.0 

3.0 

3.0 

2001  to  6000 

2 

1.5 

10.0 

6.0 

3.5 

3.5 

7.5 

9.5 

2.5 

5.0 

7.5 

towns  of  varying  sizes?  Table  I gives  the  answer.  In  towns  of  less 
than  300  population  on  the  average,  you  may  expect  to  find  only  two 
general  stores,  one  garage  and  one  concern  handling  farm  and  dairy 
products.  In  towns  up  to  and  including  1,000  people,  at  least  one  agency 
for  each  of  the  ten  kinds  of  services  may  be  expected.  Chart  III  shows 


Table  II. — All  Agencies  in  Eleven  Towns  Classified  by  Type  of  Service  and  Size  of  Town 


Population 
of  towns 

Towns 
in  class 

Agen< 

ues  by  Types  of  Service  Rendered 

All 

agen- 

cies 

Mer- 

chan- 

dising 

Trades 

and 

repair 

Commu- 

nication 

and 

trans- 

porta- 

tion 

Finan- 

cial 

Per- 

sonal 

and 

profes- 

sional 

Reli- 

gious 

(church) 

Edu- 

cation 

(school 

and 

library) 

Social 

and 

organ- 

ization 

All  towns... 

Av.  for  all... 

97.5 

41.7 

10.4 

6.1 

3.8 

14.1 

4.4 

2.3 

11.7 

100  to  300.. 

Av.  in  class 

31.0 

12.0 

5.0 

3.5 

1.5 

2.0 

2.5 

1.0 

2.0 

McFarland 

28 

13 

2 

3 

' 2 

2 

2 

1 

2 

Cottage  Grove 

34 

11 

8 

4 

1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

301-500 

Av.  in  class 

66.5 

22.5 

10.5 

5.0 

3.5 

7.0 

3.5 

2.5 

8.5 

Black  Earth 

49 

14 

11 

5 

2 

4 

3 

2 

6 

Cambridge 

84 

31 

10 

5 

5 

10 

4 

3 

11 

501-1000... 

Av.  in  class 

62.3 

24.6 

7.6 

4.0 

3.0 

10.3 

5.5 

2.3 

5.3 

Middleton 

56 

23 

8 

3 

2 

9 

4 

2 

5 

Deerfield 

61 

7 

8 

4 

4 

9 

2 

2 

4 

Mazomanie 

70 

24 

7 

5 

3 

13 

5 

3 

7 

1001-2000.. 

Av.  in  class 

127.5 

54.5 

11.0 

8.5 

3.5 

19.0 

6.0 

2.5 

19.5 

Mt.  Horeb 

212 

50 

12 

9 

3 

16 

4 

2 

22 

Elkhorn 

134 

59 

10 

8 

4 

22 

8 

3 

16 

2001-6000.. 

Av.  in  class 

218.0 

103.5 

19.5 

10.5 

8.0 

34.0 

7.0 

3.5 

27.0 

Waupaca 

191 

94 

18 

10 

5 

28 

4 

3 

26 

Stoughton 

242 

113 

21 

11 

11 

40 

10 

4 

28 

Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


17 


Chart  III. — Relation  of  Size  of  Town  to  Number  of  Merchandising 
Concerns  per  Town. 


18 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


Chart  IV. — Relation  of  Size  of  Town  to  Number  of  Service  Agencies 
per  Town  Compared  by  Types. 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


19 


the  relationship  in  a graphic  way.  The  number  of  general  stores  rise 
until  the  1,000  population  class  is  reached  then  they  tend  to  drop 
rather  sharply.  Grocery  stores  in  contrast  show  a slow  rise  until  the 
2,000  population  class  is  reached  then  they  shoot  upwards. 

All  the  Agencies  and  Eleven  Towns.  All  manner  of  service  agencies 
are  now  classified  into  eight  different  types  and  related  to  eleven  towns 
scaled  according  to  size  of  populations.  Under  the  merchandising  type 
are  included  buying  and  selling  concerns,  mostly  of  a retailing  or  a 
marketing  character.  With  trades  and  repairs  are  classified  such  as 
painters,  contractors,  blacksmiths,  cobblers  or  general  repair  men.  In 
tiie  class  of  communication  and  transportation  comes  telephone,  post 
office,  newspaper,  railroad  or  motor  transportation  service.  Personal 
and  professional  service  is  made  up  of  the  lawyer,  doctor,  dentist, 
barber,  veterinarian  and  the  like.  For  the  financial  service  is  gathered 
those  of  banking,  insurance  or  investments  and  loans.  The  religious 
service  brings  together  the  information  regarding  the  church  as  such 
with  its  various  organizations.  Religious  educational  services  were 
studied  separately  but  are  not  included  in  the  figures  unless  it  is  so 
specified.  Within  the  educational  services,  high  schools,  grade  schools 
and  libraries  are  included.  The  social  and  organization  classification 


Table  III. — Comparison  of  Town  Population  and  Trade  Area  Population  for  Towns  Whose  Trade 
Areas  Lie  Completely  in  Dane  County  with  Elkhorn  and  Waupaca  Included 


Population  of  Towns  and  of  Trade  Areas  Compared  in  Per  Cent  and 
in  Number  and  Size  of  Trade  Area 


Names  of  towns 

IN  PER  CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

Size  of  a 
trade  aree 
in  squar 
miles 

Total 

Town 

Trade 

area 

Total 

Town 

Trade 

area 

All  towns 

100 

63.5 

36.5 

90,717 

57,657 

33,060 

1,138 

Paoli 

100 

57.1 

42.9 

175 

100 

75 

8 

Mt.  Vernon 

100 

29.9 

70.1 

408 

122 

286 

17 

Rockdale 

100 

30.3 

69.7 

459 

139 

320 

8 

Windsor 

100 

26.7 

73.3 

655 

175 

480 

12 

Cottage  Grove 

100 

16.6 

83.4 

1,205 

200 

1,005 

34 

Cross  Plains 

100 

22.8 

77.2 

1,320 

300 

1,020 

41 

McFarland 

100 

30.6 

69.4 

980 

300 

680 

17 

Dane 

100 

44.3 

55.7 

713 

316 

397 

31 

Verona 

100 

26.4 

73.6 

1,327 

350 

977 

39 

Black  Earth 

100 

32.3 

67.7 

1,438 

464 

974 

49 

Cambridge 

100 

21.8 

78.2 

2,250 

490 

1,760 

44 

De  Forest 

100 

32.5 

67.5 

1,519 

493 

1,026 

27 

Marshall 

100 

31.0 

69.0 

1,601 

497 

1,104 

48 

Waunakee. 

100. 

30.1 

69.9 

1,860 

560 

1,300 

48 

Deerfield 

100  v 

34.7 

65.3 

1,712 

594 

1,118 

43 

Middleton 

100 

35.2 

64.8 

2,249 

791 

1,458 

54 

Oregon 

100 

38.8 

61.2 

2,246 

871 

1,375 

51 

Sun  Prairie 

100 

38.8 

61.2 

3,186 

1,236 

1,950 

65 

Mt.  Horeb 

100 

38.0 

62.0 

3,556 

1,350 

2,206 

80 

Elkhorn 

100 

49.5 

50.5 

4,019 

1,991 

2,028 

78 

Waupaca 

100 

41.1 

58.9 

6,903 

2,839 

4,064 

159 

Stoughton 

100 

62.6 

37.4 

8,163 

5,101 

3,062 

91 

Madison 

100 

89.7 

10.3 

42,773 

38,378 

4,395 

94 

20 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


unites  various  formal  or  informal  sociab.lity  clubs,  fraternal  or  wel- 
fare bodies  and  other  organizational  activity. 

How  all  these  different  kinds  of  agencies  tend  10  codec.,  in  towns 
of  varying  sizes  ^s  shown  in  Table  II  and  graphically  illustrated  in 
Chart  IV.  The  merchandising  with  the  personal  and  professional 
services  have  the  greatest  proportional  increase  as  the  size  of  the  town 
increases.  The  class  above  300  population  must  be  reached  before  a 
high  school  may  be  expected  and  the  curves  for  churches  and  financial 
agencies  as  well  as  those  for  communication  and  transportation  show  a 
rather  slow  rise. 

Ratios  of  Town  and  Country  Population.  With  Table  III  comes 
a comparison  of  the  town  population  with  that  of  its  trade  area  .for  all 
those  towns  whose  trade  areas  lie  entirely  within  Dane  County  and 
also  for  Elkhorn  and  Waupaca.  The  towns  are  arranged  in  order  of 
size  and  with  few  exceptions  there  is  a striking  uniformity  of  per- 
centages of  town  and  trade  area  population  when  they  are  grouped. 
In  the  class  of  300  and  below  there  is  an  unsteadiness  although  30  per 
cent  town  and  70  per  cent  trade  area  represents  about  the  average. 
In  the  two  classes  from  301  to  1,000  the  ratio  with  two  exceptions  climbs 
from  the  30  to  70  slowly  toward  the  40  and  60.  Of  the  exceptions,  the 
village  of  Dane  is  offset  by  Cambridge,  the  latter  being  especially 
successful  in  pushing  its  trade  well  out.  Stoughton  represents  the  turn- 
ing point  when  the  ratio  is  in  favor  of  the  city  and  Madison  shows  the 
extreme.  It  is  the  inclusion  of  Madison  which  upsets  the  “All  Towns” 
ratio. 

The  Service  Agencies  by  Town  and  Country  Populations.  How 

many  people  are  needed  to  keep  a service  agency  going  is  a question 
often  asked.  Table  IV  was  drafted  to  give  an  answer  for  the  ten 
commercial  concerns  when  the  towns  whose  trade  areas  lie  in  Dane 
County,  exclusive  of  Madison,  were  classified  by  population  groups  and 
the  population  per  concern  contrasted  as  between  town  and  trade 
area.  The  general  store  and  the  grocery  store  present  the  sharp-est  con- 
trast when  the  same  story  is  told  as  in  Table  I,  for  in  towns  of  100  to 
300  population  there  is  one  general  store  for  every  78  town  people 
and  one  grocery  store  for  every  1,336  town  people  which  means,  of 
course,  that  every  town  in  this  class  does  not  have  a grocery  store. 
Most  of  the  other  concerns  show  a steady  increase  in  population  of 
town  and  trade  area  together  per  concern  as  the  larger  centers  are 
reached.  There  is  a tendency  for  a slight  reduction  for  the  hardware, 
produce  and  manufacturing  concerns  in  the  2,001  to  6,000  class.  On 
the  whole  this  apparently  means  that  for  every  hundred  people  in  and 
about  the  towns  of  smaller  population  there  are  more  of  the  general 
commercial  agencies  than  there  are  in  towns  of  larger  population. 

Table  V gives  the  result  when  all  the  agencies,  classified  by  types 
as  in  Table  II  for  the  eleven  towns,  are  examined  in  the  same  fashion. 
The  table  shows  that  there  are  more  agencies  per  total  population 


Table  LV.  Population  for  Each  of  Five  Kinds  of  Commercial  Concerns  by  Towns  and  Trade  Areas  for  Dane  County,  Elkhorn  and  Waupaca 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


21 


Both 

O CO  CM  CO  CO 
OCOlOOJH 
M WHNO 
t-H.t— 1 HHCO 

1 

Bank 

Trade 

areas 

1C  H H CO  (M 

cO  1-H  O O lO 
O O CO  (N 

Town 

o oo  cq  oo  o 

^(NKNCqoO 
CO  t"-  O CO  00 
CO  co  ^ l>»  tO 

1 

Both 

472.9 

804.3 
376.1 

717.4 
1004.4 

Garage 

Trade 

areas 

to  o o co  o 

< t'-  tO  CM  »0 
iOCON^hN 
CO  to  CO  ^ ^ 

Town 

121.4 

237.2 
201.1 
305.1 

529.3 

K 

H 

O 

Both 

1737.3 
2212.0 

1613.4 

2142.2 

2152.2 

o 

O 

H 

Oh 

fc 

Furniture 

Trade 

areas 

CO  to  CM  00  O 
OOOOCOOO 

O0  to  to  CO 
CM  to  O CM  O 

O 

E* 

Ph 

O 

Ph 

Town 

448.7 

652.5 

563.2 

915.4 

1134.2 

Both 

5202.0 
1769.6 
2016.5 

1345.1 
753.3 

Groceries 

Trade 

areas 

3866.0 

1247.6 

1312.5 

773.0 

356.3 

Town 

1336.0 

522.0 

704.0 

572.1 
397.0 

m 

W 

Both 

306 

491.5 

448.1 

1076.1 

5022.0 

o 

m 

K 

& 

Trade 

areas 

227.5 

346.5 
291.7 
618.4 

2375.3 

H 

O 

Town 

78.5 

145.0 

156.4 

457.7 

2646.6 

Number 

of 

towns 

in  class 

co  Tf<  co  cm 

Population 

of  towns 

100-300 

301-500 

501-1000 

1001-2000 

2001-6000 

22 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


of  the  trades  and  repair,  communication  and  transportation,  finance, 
religion  and  educational  type  for  the  towns  of  smaller  size.  Personal 
and  professional  agencies  as  well  as  social  and  organization  activity 
shows  the  opposite  tendency.  The  significance  of  this  can  readily  be 
sensed  in  the  problem  of  securing  adequate  medicial  care  for  the  small 
communities.  The  sample  here  in  the  number  of  towns  is  rather  small 
for  some  classes  and  should  be  checked  with  other  towns  of  other  sizes. 


THE  COMMERCIAL  AGENCIES 

How  important  the  farmer  is  to  the  business  life  of  the  town  was 
found  by  spending  a considerable  amount  of  time  in  eight  towns  inter- 
viewing the  business  men  by  use  of  a detailed  schedule  regarding  their 
business  and  its  distribution  as  between  farmer  and  other.  Cambridge, 
Cottage  Grove  and  Deerfield  were  studied  completely.  A representative 
of  every  agency  was  visited  and  the  needed  information  obtained.  Repre- 
sentative samples  were  secured  from  the  other  five  towns,  London, 
McFarland,  Mazomanie,  Middleton,  and  Waupaca.  The  figures  secured 
represent  business  or  other  activity  for  the  calendar  year  1920.  The 
study  was  made  in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1921  and  since  a full  year  of 
business  was  needed,  the  1920  figures  had  to  be  used.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  this  was  the  year  when  the  break  in  prices  was  very 
sharp  and  so  the  absolute  amounts  may  not  have  as  much  significance 
as  the  percentages  and  proportions,  but  it  is  the  latter  which  are  the 
most  important  in  answering  the  leading  question  of  town  and  country 
relations. 

The  Total  Business  with  Farmer  and  Other  Compared.  The 

business  for  the  227  agencies  studied  shows  according  to  Table  VI 


Table  VI. — The  Total  Business  and  the  Farm  Business  for  Eight  Towns  Compared  by  Types  of 
Service  for  the  Year  1920* 


Number 

of 

agen- 

cies 

Total  and  Farm  Business  i 

Compared  in  Per  Cent  and  in  Number 

Types  of  service 

i] 

V PER  CEN 

T 

IN  NUMBER 

Total 

Farmer 

Other 

Total 

Farmer 

Other 

Total 

227 

100 

72.2 

27.8 

$6,497,489 

$4,694,560 

$1,802,929 

Merchandising 

129 

100 

75.6 

24.4 

5,494,887 

4,155,856 

1,339,031 

Trades  and  repairs 

39 

100 

77.2 

22.8 

381,584 

294,468 

87,116 

Personal  and  professional 
Transportation  and  com- 

35 

100 

55.0 

45.0 

140,712 

77,239 

63,473 

munication 

24 

100 

34.8 

65.2 

480,306 

166,997 

313,309 

*This  table  includes  the  business  of  six  tobacco  companies  and  the  business  of  the  thirty-two  agencies 
studied  in  the  town  of  Waupaca.  These  will  not  be  included  in  the  following  tables  of  this  section. 


that  for  the  year  1920,  72.2  per  cent  came  from  the  farmer  and  27.8  per 
cent  from  other  sources,  chief  of  which,  of  course,  was  the  town  itself. 
When  analysized  by  types,  the  merchandising  shows  75  per  cent  farmer 
and  25  per  cent  other.  Cottage  Grove,  Cambridge  and  Deerfield  when 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


23 


Chart  V. — Volume  of  Business  for  all  Kinds  of  Agencies  Compared  by 
Tyres  ard  D'v’ded  between  Farmers  and  Others. 


Total  Business 

$6,495,639 

Parmer 

4,692,710 

Other 

1,802,929 

Me rchandising 

5,493,037 

Farmer 

4,154,006 

ether 

1,339,031 

Transportation 

and  communication 

480,306 

Farmer 

166,997 

Other 

313,309 

Trades  and 

Repairs 

381 , 584 

Farmer 

294,468 

Othdr 

87,116 

Personal  and 
Professional 

Service 

140,712 

Parmer 

Other 


77,239  I 
63,473 


1,000,000  3,000,000 

DOLLARS 


5,000,000 


separated  have  practically  the  same  proportion  while  Waupaca  has  a 
lower  percentage  from  the  farmer  source.  Chart  V presents  the  dis- 
tribution in  graphic  form. 

Whenever  farmer  business  is  called  into  question,  the  town  business 
man  frequently  speaks  of  the  problem  of  extending  credit.  Table  VII 


Table  VII— The  Business  Agencies  of  the  Seven  Dane  County  Towns  Distributed  by  Types  and 

Credit  Service 


Agencies  Giving  Credit  in  Per  Cent  and  Number 


Types  of  service 

IN  PER  CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

Total 

Number 

giving 

credit 

Number 
not  giving 
credit 

Total 

Number 

giving 

credit 

Number 
not  giving 
credit 

Total 

100 

61.8 

38.2 

189 

119 

70 

Merchandising 

100 

80.6 

19.4 

103 

83 

20 

Trades  and  repairs 

100 

48.6 

51.4 

35 

17 

18 

Personal  and  professional 

100 

41.4 

58.6 

29 

12 

17 

Transportation  and  communication 

100 

31.8 

68.2 

22  • 

7 

15 

presents  the  number  and  percentages  of  the  various  types  of  business 
agencies  which  extend  credit  to  customers  whether  farmers  or  others. 
The  merchandising  agencies,  as  might  be  anticipated,  are  the  ones 
giving  this  credit  service  most  frequently.  By  bringing  into  comparison 
for  the  Dane  County  towns,  the  total  business  and  the  credit  business 
as  divided  between  farmer  and  other,  Table  VIII  is  formed.  In  the 
merchandising  type  the  farmer  furnishes  78  per  cent  of  the  business 
and  does  80  per  cent  of  the  credit  business.  Only  in  the  personal  and 
professional  service  classification  does  the  farmer  appear  to  be  far 


24 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


over-reaching  in  the  ratio  between  cash  and  credit  business,  but  here 
his  credit  amounts  to  73  per  cent  of  all  the  credit  given  while  his  total 
business  is  only  59  per  cent. 

The  Family  Customers,  Farmers  and  Others  Compared.  The 

customers  are  compared  by  families  since  this  is  a unit  more  readily 
comparable  than  the  individual.  With  Table  IX,  the  family  customer. 

Table  VIII— Comparison  of  Total  and  Credit  Business  for  Farmuxs  and  Oriais  Disrxisurjjo  by 
Types  of  Service  for  the  Year  1920 


Total  Credit  and  Cash  Business  Divided  Between  Farmers  and 
Others  in  Per  Cent  and  in  Amount 


Types  of  service  by 
cash  and  credit 

; 

IN  PER  CENT 

IN  AMOUNT 

Total 
faim  and 
others 

Farmer 

Other 

Total 
farm  and 
others 

Farmer 

Other 

All  types  total 

100 

73.6 

26.4 

84,802,458 

$3,537,011 

$1,265,447 

Cash 

100 

72.  S 

27.2 

3,764,606 

2,703,433 

1,061,173 

Credit 

100 

80.9 

19.1 

1,037,852 

833,578 

20  ,274 

Merchandising 

100 

78.1 

21.9 

3,871,291 

3,023,190  1 

848,101 

Cash 

100 

77.2 

22.8 

2,892,062 

2,232,607 

659,455 

Credit 

100 

80.7 

19.3 

979,229 

799,583 

188,646 

Trades  and  repairs 

100 

77.9 

22.1 

373,892 

291,383 

82,419 

Cash 

100 

77.7 

22.3 

345,010 

268,154 

76,856 

Credit 

100 

80.7 

19.3 

28,792 

23,229 

5,563 

Personal  and  professional 

100 

59.4 

40.6 

104,059 

61,441 

42,618 

Cash 

100 

54.6 

45.4 

79,737 

43,569 

36,177 

Credit 

100 

73.5 

26.5 

24,322 

17.881 

6,441 

Transpjrtation  and  commu- 

nication  

100 

35.5 

64.5 

453,306 

160,997 

292,309 

Cash 

100 

35.6 

64.1 

447.797 

159,112 

288,685 

Credit 

100 

34.2 

65.8 

5,509 

1,885 

3,624 

compared  whh  Table  VT  the  total  business,  it  is  evident  that  with  the 
merchandising  and  the  trades  and  repairs  services,  the  higher  pro- 
portion of  business  is  furnished  bv  the  smaller  proportion  of  farm 
families  as  compared  to  other  families.  This  is  equivalent  to  saying  that 
the  farm  family  is  a heavier  buyer  than  is  the  town  family.  Cambridge, 
Cottage  Grove,  and  Deerfield  when  singled  out  show  much  the  same 
tendency. 

The  number  of  family  customers  per  agency  divided  between 
farmers  and  others  is  next  thrown  into  comparison  with  the  number 
of  farm  families  living  within  the  town’s  general  trade  area  and  the 
number  of  families  in  the  town  itself.  This  comparison  indicates  that  for  all 
the  types  of  service  each  agency  reaches  60  per  cent  of  the  farm 
families  in  the  area  and  84  per  cent  of  the  town  families  while  for  the 
merchandising  service  separately,  each  agency  touches  68  per  cent  of 
the  farm  families,  and  92  per  cent  of  the  town  families.  This  indicates 
clearly  the  effect  of  competitive  agencies  and  concerns  reaching  the 
same  customers  for  small  portions  of  their  business.  The  individual 
business  concern  determined  to  increase  its  number  of  customers  must 
ei.her  enlarge  its  county  constituency  or  eliminate  its  competitors. 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


25 


Table  IX. — Farmer  and  Other  Customers  by  Families  Distributed  by  Types  of  Service* 


Type  of  service 

Farmer  and  Other  Family  C 
in  Nu 

Customers,  in  Per  Cent  and 
mber 

IN  PER  CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

Total 

Farmer 

Other 

Total 

Farmer 

Other 

Total 

100 

64.4 

35.6 

35,210 

22,682 

12,528 

Merchandising 

100 

64.9 

35.1 

21,682 

14,113 

7,569 

Trade  and  repairs 

100 

72.9 

27.1 

1,980 

1,444 

536 

Personal  and  professional 

100 

68.0 

32.0 

6,570 

4,468 

2,102 

Transportation  and  communication 

100 

53.4 

46.6 

4,978 

2,657 

2,321 

♦Customers  are  frequently  duplicated  as  between  the  different  services  as  well  as  between  agencies  in  the 
same  sendee. 


The  Merchandizing  Service  Analyzed  by  the  Volume  of  Business. 

The  103  merchandising  concerns  in  the  towns  in  Dane  County  are 
separated  and  analyzed  by  the  volume  of  their  business  in  Table  X, 


Table  X. — The  Merchandising  Service  Analyzed  by  the  Volume  of  Business 


Volume  of  business 

Number 

of 

Farm  and  Other  Busini 

ess  Compared  in  Per  Cent  and  in 
Amount 

ii 

ST  PER  CENT 

in  amount 

concerns 

Total 

To 

farmer 

To 

ether 

Total 

To 

farmer 

To 

other 

Total 

103 

100 

78.1 

21.9 

$3,871,291 

$3,023,190 

848,101 

0-5,000 

12 

100 

62.7 

37.3 

32,959 

20,675 

12,284 

5,001-10,000 

10 

100 

45.2 

54.8 

79,477 

35,921 

43,556 

10,001-15,000 

14 

100 

46.8 

53.2 

183,136 

85,698 

97,438 

15,001-20,000 

12 

100 

70.1 

29.9 

207,408 

145,387 

62,021 

20,001-25,000 

9 

100 

73.5 

26.5 

211,621 

155,566 

56,055 

25,001-30,000 

9 

100 

68.6 

31.4 

261,492 

179,400 

82,092 

30,001-35,000 

5 

100 

64.9 

35.1 

124,799 

81,032 

43,747 

35,001-40,000 

5 

100 

89.6 

10.4 

196,000 

175,600 

20,400 

40,001-45,000 

3 

100 

71.6 

28.4 

128,465 

92,000 

36,465 

45,001-50,000 

4 

100 

87.3 

12.7 

193,009 

168,409 

24,600 

50,091-over 

21 

100 

83.6 

16.4 

2,252,945 

1,883,502 

369,443 

still  keeping  the  comparison  of  farm  and  other  sources  in  the  fore- 
ground. There  appears  to  be  a correlation  between  the  greater  volume 
of  total  business  and  the  higher  percentage  of  farmer  trade.  Table  XT 
brings  this  total  business  classified  by  volume  in  comparison  with  the 
credit  business  divided  into  the  same  classes  and  Table  XII  carries  the 
analysis  into  the  comparison  of  farm  and  other  family  customers  as 
well  as  the  customers  per  concern  in  each  classification.  This  com- 
parison simply  details  the  one  pointed  out  earlier  when  Tables  VI  and 
IX  were  brought  together,  namely  that  a greater  proportion  of  business 
is  furnished  by  a smaller  proportion  of  farm  families.  Although  some  of 
the  classes  are  represented  by  a rather  small  number  of  concerns  in 
Table  XII,  there  does  seem  to  be  an  inclination  for  a greater  number  of 
farm  family  customers  per  concern  to  appear  as  soon  as  the  $25,000 
volume  class  is  passed. 


26 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


Table  XI. — Merchandising  Business  Classified  by  Volume  of  Business  and  Distributed  Between 
Cash  and  Credit  and  Farmers  and  Others 


Volume  by 
cash  and  credit 

Number 

of 

concerns 

Total 

, Cash  and  Credit 
in  Per  Ci 

Business  for  Farmers  and  Others 

ENT  AND  IN  AMOUNT 

in 

PER  CENT 

IN  AMOUNT 

Total 

Farmer 

Other 

Total 

Farmer 

Other 

Total 

103 

100 

78.1 

21.9 

$3,871,291 

$3,023,190 

$848,101 

Cash 

100 

77.2 

22.8 

2,892,062 

2,232,607 

790,583 

659,455 

Credit 

100 

80.7 

19.3 

979,229 

188,646 

0-5,000 

12 

100 

62.7 

37.3 

32,959 

20,675 

12,284 

Cash 

100 

63.6 

36.4 

25,909 

16,480 

9,429 

Credit 

100 

59.6 

40.4 

7,050 

4,195 

2,855 

,001-  0.000  

10 

100 

45.2 

54.8 

79.477 

r5.P21 

43.556 

Cash 

100 

40.8 

59.2 

67,727 

11,750 

27,541 

8,380 

40,186 

3,370 

Credit 

100 

71.3 

28.7 

10,001-15,000 

14 

100 

46.8 

53.2 

183,136 

85,698 

97,438 

Cash 

100 

43.2 

56.8 

157,408 

25,728 

68,082 

89,326 

Credit 

100 

68.5 

31.5 

17,616 

8,112 

1 5„001— 20,000 

12 

100 

70.1 

29.9 

207,408 

145,387 

62,021 

Cash 

100 

72.7 

27.3 

176,272 

128,197 

17,190 

48,075 

Credit 

100 

55.2 

44.8 

31,136 

13,946 

20001-25,000  

9 

100 

73.5 

26.5 

211,621 

155,566 

56,055 

Cash 

100 

69.5 

30.5 

149,745 

104,028 

45,717 

Credit 

100 

83.3 

16.7 

61,876 

51,538 

10,388 

25,001-30,000 

9 

100 

68.6 

31.4 

261,492 

179,400 

82,092 

Cash 

100 

43.9 

56.1 

108,752 

47,750 

61,002 

Credit 

100 

86.2 

13.8 

152,740 

131,650 

21,090 

30,001-35,000 

5 

100 

64.9 

35.1 

124,779 

81,032 

43,747 

Cash 

100 

64.7 

35.3 

90,117 

34,662 

58,315 

31,802 

Credit 

100 

65.5 

34.5 

22,717 

1 , 45 

35,001-40,000 

5 

100 

89.6 

10.4 

196,000 

175,600 

20,400 

Cash 

100 

81.6 

18.4 

105,130 

90,870 

85,816 

19,314 

Credit 

100 

98.9 

1.1 

89,784 

1,086 

40,001-45,000 

3 

100 

71.6 

28.4 

128,465 

92,000 

36,465 

Cash.  ... 

100 

70.9 

29.1 

86,815 

61,500 

23,315 

Credit 

100 

73.3 

26.7 

41,650 

30,500 

11,150 

45,001-50,000 

4 

100 

87.3 

12.7 

193,009 

168,409 

24,600 

Cash 

100 

86.5 

13.5 

163,231 

141,131 

22,100 

Credit 

100 

91.6 

8.4 

29,778 

27,278 

2,500 

50,000-over 

21 

100 

83.6 

16.4 

2,252,945 

1,883,502 

369,443 

Cash 

100 

84.8 

15.2 

1,760,956 

1,493,767 

267,189 

Credit 

100 

79.2 

20.8 

491,989 

389,735 

102,254 

Extending  the  Business  by  Advertising.  To  some  considerable  ex- 
tent at  least  the  advertising  policy  of  a business  may  be  considered  as  a 
measure  of  its  ambition  to  extend  and  expand  its  service.  This  is  more 
true  to  be  sure  of  the  merchandising  types  than  the  others  as  Table 
XIII  fully  demonstrates.  This  merchandising  group  is  therefore  more 
fully  detailed  in  Table  XIV.  With  some  exceptions,  doubtless  due  to  the 
small  number  of  concerns  in  the  classes,  there  is  correspondence  be- 
tween the  large  volume  of  business  and  the  amount  spent  for  advertis- 
ing both  when  considered  per  concern  and  per  family  customer.  The 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


27 


Table  XII.— Family  Customers  of  Farmers  and  Others  Compared  by  the  Volume  of  Business  for 
the  Merchandising  Agencies 


Volume  of  business 

Number 

of 

Average  Number  of  Cui 
Per  Cent  ani 

3TOMERS  BY  FAMILIES  IN 
) in  Number 

concerns 

u 

V PER  CEN 

T 

i 

N NUMBED 

Total 

Farmer 

Other 

Total 

Farmer 

Other 

Total 

103 

100 

65.0 

35.0 

272 

177 

95 

0-5,000 

12 

100 

50.2 

49.8 

223 

112 

111 

5,001-115,000 

10 

100 

71.0 

29.0 

200 

142 

58 

10,001-15,000 

14 

100 

59.4 

40.6 

244 

145 

99 

15,001-20,000 

12 

100 

52.1 

47.9 

309 

161 

148 

20,001-25,000 

9 

100 

58.8 

41.2 

277 

163 

114 

25,001-30,000 

9 

100 

74.7 

25.3 

304 

227 

77 

30,001-35,000 

5 

100 

56.2 

43.8 

450 

253 

197 

35,001-40,000 

5 

100 

80.4 

19.6 

230 

185 

45 

40,001-45,000 

3 

100 

79.4 

20.6 

408 

324 

84 

45,001-50,000 

4 

100 

86.8 

13.2 

190 

165 

25 

50,001-over 

21 

100 

73.6 

26.4 

273 

201 

72 

Table  XIII.— Agencies  and  Expenditures  for  Advertising  by  Types  of  Sbivice  fdi  tie  Yevr  1923 


Advertising  by  Agencies  and 

Number 

Amount  per  Agency 

Types  of  service 

of 

agencies 

agencies  advertising 

Amount  spent 

examined 

annually  per 

In 

In 

agencies  by 

per  cent 

number 

those  which 

advertise 

Total 

189 

39.1 

73 

§82.63 

Merchandising: 

103 

61.1 

63 

90.35 

Trades  and  repairs 

35 

17.2 

6 

30.00 

Personal  and  professional 

29 

6.9 

2 

5.00 

Transportation  and  communication 

22 

9.1 

2 

75.00 

Table  XIV. — The  Advertising  Practice  of  the  Merchandising  Concerns  .Arranged  by  Volume  of 
Business,  Average  Amount  Spent  per  Concern  and  per  Family  Customer 


Volume  of  business 

Number 

of 

concerns 

Concerns  which  Advertise  and  the  Amount  Spent 
per  Concern  and  per  Family  Customer 

concern 

ADVEB 

S WHICH 
ITISE 

Average 

amount 

spent 

per 

concern 

Average 
amount  spent 
per  family 
customer 
in  cents 

In 

per  cent 

In 

number 

Total 

103 

61.1 

63 

$90.35 

30.5 

0-5,000 

12 

41.6 

5 

30.00 

12.5 

5,001-10,000 

10 

40.0 

4 

52.50 

24.7 

10,001-15,000 

14 

57.1 

8 

46.00 

19.2 

15,001-20,000 

12 

50.0 

6 

102.00 

32.3 

20,001-25,000 

9 

89.0 

8 

81.87 

29.5 

25,001-30,000 

9 

89.0 

8 

127.75 

38.4 

30,001-35,000 

4 

100.0 

4 

57.00 

12.6 

35,001-40,000 

5 

80.0 

4 

58.75 

34.0 

40,001-45,000 

3 

66.6 

2 

265.00 

50.4 

45,001-50,000 

4 

50.0 

2 

50.00 

10.0 

50,001-over 

21 

| 57.1 

12 

131.91 

41.0 

28 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


three  towns  completely  studied,  Cottage  Grove,  Cambridge  and  Deer- 
field, have  a lower  rate  of  $79.28  per  concern  and  24.2  cents  per  family 
customer  for  the  merchandising  business.  Waupaca  on  the  other  hand 
has  decidedly  higher  rates  and  a much  higher  percentage  of  concerns 
which  do  advertising.  Figured  on  the  basis  of  gross  sales,  the  Dane 
County  merchandising  concerns  spent  a little  over  one  tenth  of  one 
per  cent  in  their  advertising.  In  contrast  with  this  very  low  figure 
three’ concerns  in  Waupaca  were  spending  three  per  cent  of  their  gross 
sales. 


The  Gross  Operating  Margins  or  Costs  in  Merchandising.  By 

operating  margin  or  cost  is  meant  the  difference  between  the  money 
taken  in  for  goods  sold  and  the  money  paid  out  for  the  purchase  of 
goods  with  due  allowance  being  given  to  any  difference  of  inventory  at 
close  of  the  year.  The  formula  is  total  sales  minus  cost  of  goods  plus  or 
minus  the  difference  of  inventories.  Table  XV  presents  this  operat- 


Table  XV. — The  Gross  Operating  Margins  or  Costs  for  the  Merchandising  Service  and  the  Annual 
Turnover  by  Volume  of  Business 


Volume  of  business 

Number 

of 

concerns 

Gross  Operating  Margins  Compared 
in  Per  Cent 

Annual  turn- 
over (total 
business 
divided  by 
average 
inventory) 

Gross  margin 
received  in 
per  cent  of 
cost  price 

Gross  margin 
received  in 
per  cent  of 
selling  price 

Gross  margin 
expected  in 
per  cent  of 
selling  price 

0-5,000 

6 

32.8 

24.6 

25.8 

3.1 

5,001-10,000 

3 

42.7 

31.5 

27.6 

5.2 

10,001-15,000 

10 

20.6 

17.8 

25.6 

4.9 

15,001-20,000 

8 

28.1 

22.5 

25.6 

4.6 

20,001-25,000 

4 

25.9 

21.2  . 

22.5 

3.2 

25,001-30,000 

5* 

12.5 

11.2 

18.0 

7.0 

30,001-35,000 

3 

17.7  , 

15.2 

18.3 

7.8 

35,001-40,000 

3 

16.4  ' 

12.9 

20.0 

5.5 

40,001-45,000 

3 

21.3 

18.3 

21.6 

5.0 

45,001-50,000 

3* 

1.8 

1.6 

10.0 

3.3 

50,001-70,000 

5 

20.7 

18.4 

18.6 

4.8 

70,001-95,000 

6 

21.0 

17.5 

25.3 

5.5 

*One  concern  in  each  of  these  classes,  a feed  store  in  each  case,  operated  at  an  actual 


ing  margin  for  69  merchandising  concerns  expressed  in  per  cent.  The 
percentages  are  calculated  in  two  different  ways.  The  first  is  on  the 
basis  of  cost  price  of  the  goods  which  is  the  way  the  consumer  usually 
thinks  of  it  for  then  it  really  means  the  number  of  cents,  out  of  each 
dollar  which  he  gives  to  the  merchant  which  he,  the  merchant,  does 
not  give  out  again  in  purchasing  the  goods.  The  second  way  is  to  use 
the  selling  price  as  a base  for  arriving  at  the  percentage  and  this  is  the 
methods  which  the  retailer  uses.  In  the  table,  per  cent  “expected” 
figured  on  the  selling  price  is  compared  with  the  margin  actually  re- 
ceived computed  after  the  retailers  practice.  This  per  cent  expected  is 
what  might  be  termed  the  mediant’s  principle  of  merchandising,  his 
method  of  quoting  prices  or  his  “mark  up”  above  the  wholesale  price, 
as  the  language  of  the  trade  expresses  it.  Out  of  this  margin,  of  course, 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


29 


must  be  paid  all  operating  expenses  as  salaries,  rent  or  interest, 
maintenance  and  compensation  for  the  merchant’s  own  services.  It  is 
quickly  evident  that  considerable  part  of  the  consumers’  dollar  goes  to 
pay  for  this  retailing  service.  Although  the  number  of  concerns  in 
some  of  the  classes  are  rather  small  the  evidence  seems  to  indicate 
that  there  is  a relationship  between  high  margins  and  low  volume  of 
business  or  stated  in  the  reverse  manner,  efficient  merchandising  in 
terms  of  rendering  the  service  at  low  costs  is  conditioned  upon  having 
a sufficient  volume  of  business. 

In  Table  XV  is  also  included  a caption  of  “annual  turn  over”  which 
means  the  number  of  times  the  money  investment  in  goods  on  hand  had 
to  be  used  in  order  to  bring  in  the  amount  of  the  total  sales.  The 
formula  is  total  business  divided  by  the  average  inventory  figured  at 
selling  or  retailing  prices.  No.  distinctive  tendencies  are  observeable 
here,  due  probably  to  the  variety  in  kinds  of  concerns  compared, 
although  the  suggestion  with  an  exception  or  two  is  that  low  turn 
over  is  associated  with  low  volume  of  sales. 

The  Financing  Services  of  the  Bank.  Although  materials  were 
gathered  for  other  forms  of  the  financing  service  than,  banking,  the 
figures  were  hardly  comparable  due  to  differences  in  the  kinds  of 
agencies  and  their  methods  of  keeping  records.  The  local  deposits  and 
loans  for  the  banks  in  the  towns  of  Cambridge,  Cottage  Grove  and 
Deerfield  are  given  in  Table  XVI  for  the  first  call  day  in  January  of 
1920  and  of  1921,  where  the  farmer’s  and  town  man’s  business  are  com- 
pared. The  1921  figures  include  those  of  one  bank  which  was  not  in 
business  the  previous  January  but  exclusive  of  this  business  which 
might  be  termed  new  business,  the  deposits  increased  over  $21,000 
during  the  year.  The  farmer  was  slowly  losing  ground  in  the  propor- 
tion which  he  was  furnishing  when  the  two  dates  representing  the 
year’s  business  are  compared.  It  appears  that  he  was  transferring 
his  savings  over  into  his  checking  account  to  meet  the  inequality  in 
the  deflation  of  which  he  realized  himself  the  victim  in  this  period. 
Despite  the  fact  that  these  towns  represent  a tobacco  producing  area 
and  that  the  crop  was  moving  slowly  and  at  a much  lower  figure,  the 
farmers  were  still  more  than  financing  themselves  if  the  comparison 
of  their  bank  deposits  and  the  loans  which  they  had  drawn  out,  is  any 
measure.  This  reserve  or  margin  between  farmers’  deposits  and  loans 
was  greater  in  January  1921  than  it  was  the  year  before.  The  volume 
of  loans  had  been  reduced  by  a greater  amount  rather  than  the  de- 
posits increased.  This  may  reflect  an  effort  on  the  part  of  the  farmer 
to  liquidate  his  obligations  with  the  surpluses  secured  before  the 
crash  in  prices  came  and  the  calendar  year,  1920,  did  not  give  enough 
time  for  the  opposite  movement  to  get  under  way. 


Table  XVI.— The  Local  Deposits  and  Loans  for  the  Banks  of  Cambridge,  Cottage  Grove  and  Deerfield  Compared  for  Farmer  and  Other  Business  for  the  Years  1920  and  1921 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


codecs 

00(NO 
GO  CO  O 

o o ^ 

TJH 
CO  <M 


oo  co 
oT  co  t>r 

1-1  co  CO 


888 


CO  l>- 
HCON 


"The  Jan.  1921  figures  include  a new  bank  in  Deerfield  which  did  not  do  business  through  the  year  920. 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


31 


THE  NON  COMMERCIAL  AGENCIES 

With  the  non-commercial  service  agencies  are  classed  the  school, 
the  church  and  the  various  social  and  fraternal  organizations  or  clubs. 
With  the  school,  only  the  high  school  is  considered  since  this  is  the 
educational  agency  which  brings  the  farmer  and  the  town’s  people  to- 
gether most  definitely.  It  is  with  these  non-commercial  agencies  that 
the  associations  between  town  and  country  are  more  personal  and  in- 
formal. Since  the  motive  of  selling  the  services  and  the  necessity  of 
looking  to  the  town  is  absent,  the  relationship  is  on  a rather  different 
basis.  In  these  agencies  there  is  opportunity  for  the  farmer  to  share  in 
the  responsibility  of  management  or  leadership.  It  is  in  this  realm  of 
services  also  where  the  farmer  has  provided  more  of  his  own  agencies, 
especially  for  the  religious  and  the  social  services,  than  he  has  for  the 
merchandising  service  for  example.  This  will  be  fully  demonstrated 
in  Part  III  when  the  service  area  maps  of  the  towns  show  restricted 
limits  for  these  services  as  well  as  a larger  number  of  open  country 
centers. 

The  Educational  Service.  No  consolidated  schools  are  to  be  found 
in  the  area  under  study  and  only  a comparatively  few  of  the  rural 
children  living  close  in  attend  the  town  graded  schools,  therefore  the 
high  school  is  the  agency  where  this  educational  service  relationship 
between  town  and  country  must  be  observed.  First  of  all  it  must  be 
said  that  in  none  of  the  to.wns  studied  is  there  a high  school  in  which 
the  farmer  has  a joint  share  in  the  management  that  is,  the  legal  limits 
of  the  district  extend  but  little  beyond  the  towns’  corporate  limits.  This 
means  that  the  farmer  sends  his  children  to  the  town  school  by  its  per- 
mission and  he  or  his  township  pays  by  tuition  for  whatever  kind  of 
education  is  there  provided.  That  the  area  for  the  study  of  this  service 
might  be  extended,  the  15  high  schools  of  Dane  County,  exclusive  of 
the  Madison  schools,  and  the  Waupaca  high  school  were  studied.  Of 
all  this  number  only  four  teach  agriculture  and  only  one  has  its  ad- 
ministration on  a community  basis,  that  is  one  which  includes  the 
farming  community  in  its  legal  area.  These  high  schools  have  1,459  pupils 
from  Dane  County  of  which  number  52.1  per  cent  are  from  the  towns  and 
47.9  per  cent  from  the  country.  Of  the  pupils  from  farm  homes  42.3  per 
cent  were  boys  and  57.7  per  cent  were  girls.  The  Wuapaca  school 
considered  separately,  draws  45  per  cent  of  its  pupils  from  the  country. 

The  question  of  the  farmer’s  participation  in  the  management  of 
these  schools  is  of  prime  importance.  A very  small  percentage  of 
farmers  on  the  school  board  could  be  expected  since  the  legal  limits  in 
all  but  the  one  case,  extend  so  little  beyond  the  town.  By  count  of 
the  49  school  board  members,  13  or  26.5  per  cent  were  farmers,  some 
may  have  been  retired  farmers  living  in  the  towns  but  these  were  not 
counted.  But  what  of  the  costs?  Put  on  the  basis  of  total  cost  per 
pupil,  the  average  was  $179  for  the  year  1921.  Waupaca  had  a cost  of 


32 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


$168  per  pupil.  The  cost  to  the  farmer  on  this  tuition  plan  is  most  de- 
cidedly a factor  in  the  situation.  On  this  basis,  he  hires  the  town  school 
at  a flat  rate  of  $72  per  year  per  child.  This  would  seem  to  constitute 
a saving  of  a little  over  $100  per  year.  One  illustration  is  enough  to 
demonstrate  the  complete  fallacy  of  such  an  economy  regime.  One 
county  superintendent  recites  the  story  of  a painful  task  to  which  he 
was  recently  called,  that  of  writing  a recommendation  for  one  of  the 
most  promising  high  school  graduates  in  his  county  to  a clerical  position 
in  Milwaukee.  This  candidate  was  a farm  boy  full  of  promise  for 
leadership.  He  liked  the  farm  and  wanted  to  take  agriculture  in  the 
high  school.  It  was  not  given.  He  became  interested  in  the  popular 
commercial  department.  This  rural  community  has  lost  a leader. 

The  Religious  Service.  Two  agencies  devoted  to  the  religious 
service  were  studied  in  only  the  seven  Dane  County  towns  with  Wau- 
paca as  a check,  namely  the  church  itself  and  the  agencies  for  religious 
education.  In  the  ten  schools  for  religious  education  it  was  found  that 
only  46.2  per  cent  of  the  children  were  from  farm  homes  with  the 
balance  of  53.8  per  cent  from  the  towns.  This  proportion  is  lower 
than  the  division  for  church  membership.  Of  the  lay  leaders  or 
teachers  a very  small  per  cent,  12.4,  were  from  the  country,  with  the  87.6 
per  cent  from  town.  Here  is  also  evidence  that  the  farm  family  for 
some  reason  or  other  is  delegating  a very  important  function. 

The  church  membership  for  15  institutions  in-  these  same  towns 
has  a division  of  51.5  per  cent  and  48.5  per  cent  in  favor  of  the  town. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem  the  leadership  as  represented  by  members  of 
official  boards  of  the  laity,  55.9  per  cent  were  farm  people.  The  mem- 
bership for  1921  averaging  about  180  per  church  is  an  increase  of  about 
30  for  each  church  over  an  estimated  previous  five  year  average.  The 
attendance  records  were  such  that  too  much  dependence  cannot  be 
placed  in  them.  If  the  estimates  given  are  used,  and  they  are  almost 
sure  to  be  sufficiently  liberal,  almost  exactly  one-half  of  the  members 
are  in  the  habit  of  attendance.  The  seating  capacities  of  the  churches 
on  the  other  hand,  are  such  as  to  accommodate  about  two  and  one-half 
times  as  many  people  as  are  accustomed  to  appear  for  the  regular 
services.  The  simple  economy  of  this  situation  will  sooner  or  later 
call  for  readjustments. 

The  contributions  for  local  expenses  and  for  out  of  the  community 
benevolences  amounted  to  $10.60  per  member  for  the  year  1921.  This 
is  somewhat  less  than  the  per  capita  contribution  for  Price  and  Sheboy- 
gan Counties,  Wisconsin,  as  revealed  in  studies  made  by  the  Committee 
on  Social  and  Religious  Surveys.8  For  three  Waupaca  churches  the 
total  contributions  were  $12.50  per  member.  Of  the  total  contributions 
70  per  cent  was  used  for  the  local  work  and  30  per  cent  sent  out  for 
benevolences.  The  average  salary  paid  the  clergy  over  and  above  the 
use  of  a dwelling  was  $1,215  annually. 

8Fry,  C.  Luther,  The  New  and  Old  Immigrant  on  the  Land,  1922,  p.  110. 


Table  XVII.— 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


33 


34 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


The  Sociability  Service.  The  agencies  engaged  in  what  may  be 
termed  the  sociability  service  including  various  k.nds  of  social,  recrea- 
tional or  fraternal  activity,  are  such  as  clubs,  lodges  and  informal  or- 
ganizations. In  the  Dane  County  towns,  30  of  the  agencies  were 
studied.  The  membership  canvass  showed  that  40  per  cent  were  drawn 
from  the  country  and  60  per  cent  from  the  town.  The  leadership  as 
represented  by  the  officers  gives  only  15.3  per  cent  to  the  farmer  and 
84.7  per  cent  to  the  townsmen.  The  record  of  contributions  or  mem- 
bership fees  showed  $11  given  per  member.  There  appeared  to  be' no 
way  to  check  the  distribution  of  these  receipts  between  town  and 
country. 

The  participation  and  the  leadership  in  these  non-commercial 
activities  for  town  and  country  comparison  are  assembled  in  Table 
XVII  where  the  banking  service  is  also  included  by  the  records  of  de- 
posits. and  numbers  on  the  boards  of  directors.  The  conclusion  is 
difficult  of  escape  that  although  the  farmer  is  participating  about 
equally  he,  is  not  assuming  his  proportionate  share  of  the  leadership. 

THE  TOWN  AS  A TOWN  AND  SERVICE  STATION 

How  is  a town  different  from  a mere  aggregation  of  agencies?  Up- 
on the  answer  to  this  question  depends  much  regarding  the  future  of 
town  and  country  relations.  The  ideal  answer  probably  would  be  to  the 
effect  that  a small  town  is  made  by  the  spirit  of  unity  and  a common 
sense  of  loyalty  to  its  fundamental  service  purpose.  These  elements 
are'  difficult  of  measurement  and  comparison.  Certain  objective 
characteristics  are,  however,  quite  easily  distinguishable. 

Town  and  Community  Enterprises.  To  carry  to  success  certain 
enterprises  involving  the  whole  town  or  community  depends  upon  a 
certain  amount  of  cooperative  effort  irrespective  of  the  immediate  cash 
return  to  individual  concern  or  agency.  Probably  the  easiest  contrasts 
appear  in  such  enterprises  as  the  parks,  the  approaches  to  the  town, 
the  streets,  the  utilities  such  as  adequate  lights  or  telephone  service. 
Judged  by  such  standards  the  small  towns  of  Dane  County  present 
striking  comparisons.  Further  study  is  needed  before  any  complete 
classification  can  be  made  on  this  basis.  Other  evidences  of  town  unity 
are  such  undertakings  as  athletic  teams,  bands,  town  loyalty  to  schools, 
community  festivals  or  fairs. 

Cambridge  has  been  an  example  of  success  with  a large  community 
festival  bringing  town  and  country  together.  One  small  yet  significant 
feature  in  this  program  is  a long  established  custom  of  exchange  of 
hospitality.  One  year  the  merchants  entertain  the  farmers  and  their 
families  and  the  next,  the  farmers  are  hosts  to  the  merchants  and  their 
families.  Waupaca  by  an  organization  known  as  the  “Hustler  Plan”  has 
by  means  of  contests  and  cooperative  programs  succeeded  in  tying  to- 
gether and  to  the  town  all  the  rural  schools  of  the  community.  Other 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


35 


successful  enterprises  could  be  narrated  but  this  would  become  a study 
in  itself.  Perhaps  experience  with  the  uniform  closing  plan  typifies  the 
opposite  condition  in  which  some  towns  find  themselves.  One  illustra- 
tion will  be  sufficient.  After  much  bickering  back  and  forth  it  was  finally 
decided  in  one  town  to  close  all  day  on  holidays.  Two  merchants  of 
greater  faith  than  others  regarding  the  success  of  the  plan  went  fish- 
ing. Toward  noon,  since  the  fish  were  not  biting  well  enough  to  com- 
pletely engage  their  attention,  a feeling  of  suspicion  that  perhaps  com- 
petitors had  not  kept  faith  and  had  opened  their  stores,  began  to  creep 
over  them.  They  abandoned  hook  and  line  and  went  home  and  sure 
enough,  the  store  across  was  open  and  one  customer  was  buying  a paper 
of  pins.  Thus  ended  cooperative  effort  within  that  town  as  well  as 
its  community  enterprises. 

Some  Details  for  the  Three  Towns.  Close  study  of  all  the  service 
agencies  in  the  three  towns  of  Cambridge,  Cottage  Grove  and  Deerfield, 
show  certain  characteristics  with  reference  to  this  element  of  com- 
munity organization.  Cottage  Grove  because  of  its  rather  restricted 
size,  its  closeness  to  the  city  of  Madison  and  the  fact  that  it  is  not  in- 
corporated, is  not  directly  comparable  with  the  others.  Both  of  the 
other  towns  report  well  over  a million  dollars  worth  of  business  for 
the  year  1920.  Deerfield  has  a larger  volume  and  a larger  percentage 
from  the  farmer.  This  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  Cambridge  is  not 
on  a railroad  and  secures  during  the  summer  a considerable  trade  from 
summer  campers  and  tourists.  In  contrast  with  amounts,  Cambridge 
has  more  agencies  for  every  kind  of  service.  The  difference  in  the 
number  of  social  agencies  as  seen  in  Table  II  is  the  most  prominent. 

The  cond.tion  of  the  merchandising  service  as  a whole  for  these 
three  towns  is  pictured  in  a graph,  Chart  VI.  The  total  yearly  business 
comparing  the  amounts  from  farm  and  town  are  shown  for  62  concerns. 
The  horizontal  bars  are  plotted  on  the  basis  of  average  business  per 
concern  and  on  the  vertical  is  the  number  of  stores  in  the  volume  class. 
It  is  quickly  seen  that  a few  stores  do  most  of  the  business.  To  be  ex- 
act, the  first  five  classified  on  the  basis  of  highest  sales  for  the-  year 
1920,  do  23  per  cent  of  all  the  business.  The  first  ten  concerns  do  40 
per  cent  of  the  business.  The  result  is  a large  number  of  people  en- 
gaged in  the  retailing  service  in  a large  number  of  small  stores  of 
about  the  same  standard  of  inefficiency  and  the  same  grade  of  ordinary 
merchandise.  Since  the  prices  tend  to  gravitate  to  the  level  of  the 
operating  margins  of  the  least  efficient  or  marginal  concerns,  a burden 
rather  than  a service  benefit  is  saddled  on  to  the  community.  The 
concrete  application  of  this  is  recognized  by  the  farmer  customer.  One 
story  will  illustrate  the  point.  A farmer’s  wife  went  to  the  nearby  town 
to  buy  a pair  of  shoes.  There  were  five  stores  in  town  which  carried 
shoes.  She  visited  them  all.  She  wanted  a particular  type  of  nationally 
advertised,  dress  shoe.  Most  of  the  shoes  shown  her  were  very 
ordinary  although  the  salesmen  argued  that  they  were  the  best  on  the 


36 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


Chart  VI. — The  Total  Merchandising  Business  for  Cottage  Grove,  Cam- 
bridge and  Deerfield  Analyzed  by  Volume  and  the  Average 
Amount  Done  per  Store  in  Each  Class. 


market.  She  knew  better.  The  town  lost  a sale  and  a custodier  lost  her 
patience.  “They  seem  to  think  that  anything  is  good  enough  for  a 

farmer’’,  she  said. 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


37 


Influences  of  Outside  Agencies.  No  town  is  a local  town  any  more. 
Each  unit  represents  a link  in  a long  chain  of  state  and  national  re- 
lationships. There  are  state,  national  or  international  conclaves  of  all 
kinds  for  the  social  and  fraternal  organizations.  The  local  members 
make  up  the  majority  of  the  listeners  rather  than  the  exorters  but  they 
are  constantly  being  exposed  to  outside  influence,  to  stimulation  through 
competitive  feats  and  to  an  increasing  demand  for  standarized  pro- 
cedure in  the  local  unit."  The  churches  through  their  state  or  national, 
denominational  boards  of  various  kinds  are  under  much  the  same  in- 
fluences. The  business  man  himself  is  by  no  means  exempt.  There  is 
the  traveling  salesman  from  the  wholesale  house  in  Milwaukee.  One 
such  firm  has  had  the  same  salesman  in  the  territory  studied  for 
twenty-five  years.  The  policy  ‘of  merchandising  which  this  house  be- 
lieves in  can  be  recognized  at  once  in  the  stores  in  these 
local  towns.  Then  there  is  the  whole  system  known  in  the  trade  as 
“Service.”  Not  only  does  the  local  merchant  buy  goods  from  over- 
head agencies  but  he  buys  their  “service”  such  as  standardized  window 
display,  circular  letters  with  the  name  of  his,  own  store  included,  ad- 
vertising materials  with  highly  illustrated  color  plates  entirely  beyond 
uie  printing  capacity  of  the  local  print  shop,  the  store  newspaper 
written  in  the  Chicago  distributor’s  office  for  a whole  area  and  finally 
the  “service  literature”  of  all  kinds  and  descriptions.  Again  the  local 
"progressive”  merchant  at  least,  is  a member  of  a trades  organization 
and  is  on  its  mailing  list  for  literature  and  the  magazine.  The  influence 
of  these  associations  were  clearly  seen  in  the  merchandising  practices, 
theories,  and  attitudes  of  the  men  in  the  towns  studied.  Three  of  these 
associations  which  were  most  evident  in  their  influence  were  the  Wis- 
consin Retail  Hardware  Dealers’  Association,  the  National  Association 
of  Retail  Clothiers  and  the  Retail  Lumber  Dealers’  Association.  One 
concrete  instance  of  this  influence  is  the  accounting  system  urged  up- 
on the  local  hardware  dealer  by  his  state  association.  Where  this 
system  was  in  use  the  information  for  this  study  could  be  secured  in 
fifteen  minutes.  All  of  this  then  indicates  a tendency  for  bringing  the 
small  town  into  a scheme  of  relationships  where  its  function  is  that  of 
a distributor  of  services  of  all  kinds  ranging  from  groceries  to  religion, 
to  the  ultimate  consumer  after  the  fashion  worked  out  by  experts  in 
larger  overhead  agencies. 

Responding  to  Community  Needs.  In  order  to  discharge  this 
function  of  distributing  services  to  the  community,  the  local  town  and 
its  agencies  can  not  become  wooden  and  attempt  to  pass  on  any  pre- 
digested product  suggested  by  the  outside  producer,  but  it  must  be- 
come acquainted  with  what  the  local  community  needs.  The  retailer  of 
services  cannot  stand  behind  his  counter,  his  desk  or  his  pulpit  and  wait 
for  his  clients  to  ask  for  and  explain  the  things  which  they  need.  He 
must  anticipate  these  requirements.  He  must  associate  with  the  busi- 
ness, civic  or  social  organizations  of  the  community  and  extend  his  in- 
terests beyond  the  corporate  limits  of  his  town  for  his  is  a role  of 


38 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


leadership.  This  leads  directly  to  the  third  part  of  the  study,  an  in- 
vestigation regarding  what  kind  of  a town  the  farmer  really  needs  and 
wants.  In  fact  the  project  was  delayed  a year  in  order  that  this  service 
area  of  the  town  might  be  studied  and  correlated  with  the  study  of  the 
town  itself. 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


39 


PART  III 

THE  FARMER  HAS  HIS  TOWN 

What  Kind  of  a Town  Does  the  Farmer  Really  Want? 


THAT  THE  farmer  wants  his  own  organizations  for  certain  kinds 
of  services  is  evidenced  on  every  hand,  nevertheless  it  is  equally 
evident  that  for  certain  other  kinds  of  services  he  realizes  his 
dependence  upon  nearby  villages.,  towns,  or  cities.  It  has  often  been 
suggested  that  the  farmer  needs  his  town,  but  what  kind  of  a town  does 
he  really  want  and  what  are  the  kinds  of  services  for  which  he  must 
turn  to  the  town?  A summary  classification  of  six  services  has  been 
made  for  the  purpose  of  studying  this  town  and  country  relationship. 
They  are  the  economic,  including  merchandising,  marketing  and  financ- 
ing; the  educational,  the  religious,  the  social,  the  communication  and 
that  of  organization  activity  itself.  In  seeking  an  answer  to  this 
question  as  to  what  kind  of  a town  the  farmer  really  wants,  or  stated 
in  a Lttle  different  way,  what  are  the  factors  which  to  a more  or  less 
degree,  determine  the  trading  and  the  social  habits  of  the  farmer  with 
reference  to  the  nearby  towns,  787  farm  families  were  personally  visit- 
ed and  questioned.  The  families  were  distributed  in  three  counties 
and  over  the  general  trade  areas  of  six  villages,  towns  or  cities.  In 
Dane  County  four  trade  centers  were  selected  which  border  upon  one 
another  and  which  lie  within  motoring  distance  of  the  larger  city  of  # 
Madison.  To  act  as  a check  for  bringing  out  certain  contrasts  or 
comparison  the  Elkhorn  trade  area  in  Walworth  County  and  the 
Waupaca  area  in  Waupaca  County  were  selected.  Obviously  not  all  the 
farm  families  within  the  various  areas  of  town  influence  could  be  visit- 
ed, therefore  the  plan  followed  was  to  interview  those  families  living 
near  the  margins,  or  away  from  the  towns  in  question  a sufficient 
distance  to  have  a real  choice  as  the  result  of  being  comparatively 
near  another  town.  When  studying  a particular  town  the  investigator 
followed  out  each  road  beyond  these  margins  until  the  influence  of  the 
town  respecting  any  or  all  of  the  six  services  was  completely  lost. 

It  is  recognized  that  the  answers  to  some  of  the  questions  are  a 
registration  of  opinion  and  that  opinion  is  subject  to  suggestions  of 
change  but  it  is  a truthful  report  of  the  reasons  existing  in  the  minds 
of  the  people  regarding  their  relations  to  their  towns.  To  be  sure 
many  did  not  really  know  why  they  went  to  this  or  that  town  for  such 
and  such  a service,  but  the  report  of  this  lack  of  conscious  decision  re- 
lating to  many  important  economic  and  social  affairs  of  family  and  com- 
munity life  are  quite  if  not  more  significant  and  important  for  study. 


40 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


Maps  and  Tables  Tell  the  Story.  The  purpose  is  to  tell  the  story 
of  the  replies  received  largely  by  maps  and  tables.  The  maps  are  in- 
tended to  answer  the  question  of  “how  far”  the  town  extends  its  various 
services.  The  tables  give  answer  to  “the  why”  the  farm  family  goes 
to  the  particular  town  or  to  any  town  for  the  various  services  The 
first  three  large  maps,  Figures  2,  3 and  4,  show  the  three  areas  studied 


FIG.  2.— THE  DANE  COUNTY  AREA— SOUTHEASTERN  SECTION 

307  Farm  families  were  visited  in  this  area. 

The  red  lines  indicate  state  and  county  trunk  highways. 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


41 


GENERAL  TRADE  AREA  ® SMALL  CENTER 

MAXIMUM  SERVICE  AREA  ° FARM  FAMILIES  VISITED 

TOWNSHIP  BOUNDARIES 


FIG.  3.— THE  ELKHORN  AREA  IN  WALWORTH  COUNTY 

212  Farm  families  were  visited  in  this  area. 

The  red  lines  indicate  state  and  county  trunk  highways 


42 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


GENERAL  TRADE 

AREA 

MAXIMUM  SERVICE 
AREA 
TOWNSHIP 
" BOUNDARIES 
• SMALL  CENTER 
FARM  FAMILIES 
5 VISITED 


i] 

11  1- 

X 

F 

•/ 

\ 

/ 

/. 

<•  Inti  > 

vT 

/ 

''' 

3!XZ 

FIG.  4.— THE  WAUPACA  AREA  IN  WAUPACA  COUNTY 

268  Farm  families  were  visited  in  this  area. 

The  red  lines  indicate  state  and  county  trunk  highways 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


43 


indicating  in  each  case  the  location  of  the  families  visited,  the  general 
trade  areas  and  the  maximum  service  of  each  of  the  six  towns  under 
study.  The  smaller  maps  are  grouped  according  to  the  service  under 
consideration  and  the  six  towns  brought  together  for  comparison.  The 
large  swinging  curve  on  each  map  includes  what  shall  be  termed  the 
maximum  service  area.  This  was  formed  by  connecting  the  outer 
points  to  which  any  of  the  specialized  services  extended.  This  area  is 
made  a constant  for  all  the  service  maps  and  the  areas  of  the  different 
services  are  platted  within  this  for  purposes  of  easy  comparison.  The 
tables  in  general  have  been  arranged  in  series  of  three  for  each  of  the 
services  under  observation,  for  example,  in  the  matter  of  groceries, 
first,  reasons  for  selecting  any  town  as  a trading  center  for  groceries, 
second,  reasons  for  selecting  the  particular  trade  towns  as  places  to 
buy  groceries,  and  third,  reasons  for  buying  groceries  in  centers  other 
than  the  six  trade  towns  under  surveillance.  Not  all  of  the  maps  nor 
all  of  the  tables  could  be  presented  in  printed  form,  therefore  where 
comparisons  were  regular  or  where  one  service  or  set  of  reasons  follow 
another  very  closely,  the  matter  is  handled  with  only  a brief  statement. 

THE  ECONOMIC  SERVICE 

General  Trade.  The  first  and  leading  question  was  in  regard  to 
general  trade  and  was  put  in  such  a way  as  to  virtually  amount  to  the 
question  of  what  the  family  regarded  as  its  “home  town”.  Table  XVIII 
indicates  that  the  factor  most  prominent  in  determining  the  farmers’ 

Table  XVIII. — The  Farmer’s  Reasons  for  General  Trade  or  “Most  Trading”  in  Any  Town 


“Most  Trading”  Distributed  by  the  County  Areas  in  Per  Cent 
and  in  Number 


Reasons  for  general 
trading  in  a town 

IN  PER  CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

All 

areas 

Dane 

county 

Wal- 

worth 

county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

All 

areas 

Dane 

county 

Wal- 

worth 

county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

787 

307 

212 

268 

Nearest 

48.7 

53.6 

27.6 

59.7 

383 

16434* 

5834 

160 

Better  price 

10.2 

2.4 

19.8 

11.4 

80 

734 

42 

3034 

Best  service 

8.3 

4.9 

15.6 

6.5 

6534 

15 

33 

1734 

Friends  or  relatives 

8.0 

10.4 

10.1 

3.5 

63 

32 

2134 

934 

‘Always  traded  there” 

6.7 

4.7 

9.7 

6.7 

53 

1434 

2034 

18 

Best  roads 

4.2 

6.8 

4.0 

1.6 

33 

2034 

. 8 34 

4 

Larger  town 

2.2 

3.7 

.4 

1.7 

17 

1134 

1 

434 

Most  convenient 

2.0 

3.2 

1.9 

.7 

16 

10 

4 

2 

Unspecified 

9.7 

10.3 

10.9 

8.2 

7634 

3134 

23 

22 

*The  fraction  of  34  indicates  a half  coant  for  each  of  two  reasons,  in  other  words  some  people  gave  two 
answers  to  the  same  question  so  each  was  given  its  due  weight. 


relation  to  the  various  centers  was  “nearest”.  This  was  comparatively 
uniform  for  Dane  and  Waupaca  Counties  while  in  Walworth  County  it 
was  apparently  only  about  half  as  strong.  This  was  due  to  the  greater 
facility  of  travel  in  this  latter  area  resulting  from  better  roads  which 


44 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


FIG.  5.— THE  GENERAL  TRADE  AREAS  AND  THE  MAXIMUM  SERVICE 

AREAS 

The  solid  black  line  indicates  the  general  trade  area  while  the  broken 
swinging  curve  represents  the  maximum  area  to  which  any  service 
extends.  The  small  circles  indicate  location  of  open  country  stands.  The 
arrows  show  the  encroachments  from  near-by  towns. 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


45 


meant  that  “better  prices”  and  “best  service”  ranked  higher.  When  the 
six  towns  were  compared  the  same  tendencies  were  revealed.  “Nearest” 
predominated  as  the  reason,  though  Elkhorn  followed  closely  the 
characteristic  shown  by  the  larger  group  ;n  its  county,  Walworth. 

The  area  comparisons  are  shown  on  both  the  large  maps  and  the 
smaller  service  maps.  The  maximum  service  areas,  the  general  trade 
and  the  over  lap  between  the  areas  in  Dane  County  are  drawn.  By 
planimeter  measuremeilts  the  general  trade  areas  of  the  towns  fill  the 
respective  maximum  areas  in  the  following  percentages;  Cambridge. 
60.0  per  cent ; Cottage  Grove,  47.9  per  cent ; Deerfield,  57.0  per  cent ; 
Stoughton,  65.8;  Elkhorn,  52.5  per  cent;  and  Waupaca,  49.1  per  cent. 

Comparison  by  similar  means  of  the  general  trade  lines  with  those 
discovered  by  Dr.  Galpin  for  Elkhorn  in  1915  shows  that  the  area  has 
shrunk  a little  over  12  square  miles  or  about  the  equivalent  of  one-third 
of  a township.  Differences  in  methods  of  measurement  would  account 
for  some  of  this  since  in  the  earlier  study,  extreme  points  were  con- 
nected while  in  this  study  the  farm  was  the  unit.  The  general  shape  has 
remained  about  the  same  excepting  the  outer  limits  have  been  some- 
what contracted  and  the  area  in  the  direction  of  Williams  Bay  ex- 
panded. The  tendency  has  been  one  of  making  the  area  more  compact 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  town.4 

Merchandising.  The  general  merchandising  service  was  sampled  by 
studying  closely  four  specialized  services,  namely  groceries,  furniture 
good  clothing,  work  clothes  and  farm  machinery  trade. 

Groceries.  The  service  involved  in  grocery  merchandising  usually 
included  the  marketing  of  eggs  and  in  a very  few  cases  butter  or 
poultry.  With  the  comparison  by  counties  in  Table  XIX  “Nearest” 
again  headed  the  classification.  In  Dane  County  this  reason  clearly 
predominated.  In  Walworth  and  Waupaca  Counties  it  also  received 

Table  XIX. — Reasons  for  Selecting  any  Town  as  a Trading  Center  for  Groceries 


Grocery  Trading  Distributed  by  the  County  Areas  in  Per  Cent 
and  in  Number 


grocery  town 

IN  PER  cent  ‘ 

IN  NUMBER 

All 

areas 

Dane 

county 

Wal- 

worth 

county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

All 

areas 

Dane 
. county 

Wal- 

worth 

county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

787 

307 

212 

268 

Nearest 

26.2 

33.6 

25.5 

18.5 

20634 

103 

54 

4934~ 

Most  convenient 

11.8 

25.4 

3.5 

2.6 

9234 

. 78 

734 

7 

Best  goods 

9.2 

10.3 

.5 

14.9 

7234 

3134 

1 

49 

Better  price 

7.2 

4.7 

7.5 

9.7 

5634 

1434 

16 

26 

Friends  or  relatives 

3.9 

7.0 

.3 

3.4 

31 

2134 

34 

9 

Market  for  produce 

3.4 

4.7 

1.4 

3.4 

2634 

1434 

3 

9 

Best  service 

2.7 

1.6 

6.6 

.9 

2134 

5 

14 

234 

Groceries  by  truck 

2.2 

.5.5 

17 

17 

Unspecified 

33.4 

7.2 

54.7 

46.6 

263 

22 

116 

125 

major  consideration  in  the  answers  given  but  scarcely  50  per  cent  of 
those  interviewed  were  ready  to  specify  a definite  reason.  When  the 


4Galpin  C.  .T.  The  Social  Anatomy  of  an  Agricultural  Community,  Res. 
Bui.  34.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Uni.  Wis.,  Madison,  1915. 


Table  XX.— Reasons  for  Selecting  the  Particular  Trade  Towns  as  Places  to  Buy  Groceries 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


The  Six  Trade  Towns  Compared  in  Per  Cent  and  in  Number 

In  Number 

WAU- 

PACA 

COUNTY 

Wau- 

paca 

00 

j ^ -t1  — i 

co 

j WAL- 

WORTH 
COUNTY 

Elk- 

horn 

§ 

5 

DANE  COUNTY 

Stough- 

ton 

74 

j S 

CO 

Deer- 

field 

35 

HOOThHWCONHH 

Cot- 

tage 

Grove 

33 

XJR  : 1 XS 

1^0^  : :hhh 

Cam- 

bridge 

CM 

3SR  SK  j 

j to  GO  O (M  ^ 

All 

trade 

towns 

£ 

co 

X IS  X 

OONiO^NOONOO 
tDCO^NHHH  a> 

In  Per  Cent 

WAU- 

PACA 

COUNTY 

Wau- 

paca 

100 

OO  GO  *©  OO  OO  CO  Tf< 
T— ( CO  to  ^ I CM 

CM 

to 

to 

WAL- 

WORTH 

COUNTY 

Elk- 

horn 

100 

to  : t>-  »-«  : OO 

cm  : ^ <y>  t>» 

to 

00 

H 

S3 

Stough- 

ton 

100 

5rt°lHHHHCDH 

Deer- 

field 

100 

OOCO^O^-HCOt^COOi 

CM^T-nCMt^OOiO^CM 

M(NrH 

o 

o 

H 

fc 

Q 

Cot- 

tage 

Grove 

100 

irtCicO  : O : O to  to 
cm  r-H  co  : co 

'CCOh 

Cam- 

bridge 

100 

o *-4  cm  oo  co 

CONN^HCOIO 
t-h  CM  CO 

All 

trade 

towns 

} 

> 

100 

t^-GOCOt^CDCMCOCMCM 

fH  rH  Tf  CD  to  CO  CO  (M  rH 

CM  CO 

Reasons  for  Selecting  the 
particular  town 

Total 

Nearest 

Most  convenient 

Best  goods 

Best  price 

Friends  or  relatives 

Market  for  produce 

Best  service 

Groceries  by  truck 

Unspecified 

Table  XXI. — Reasons  for  Buying  Groceries  in  Centers  Other  Than  the  Six  Trade  Towns 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


48 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


six  trade  towns  were  seperated,  “nearest”  continued  to  be  the  chief 
reason  for  Cottage  Grove,  Deerfield  and  Stoughton  areas  while  “best 
goods”  ranked  highest  in  the  Cambridge  and  Waupaca  areas.  “Price” 
received  consideration  in  the  Elkhorn  area  but  the  percentage  of  replies 
was  comparatively  small.  The  six  trade  towns  were  contrasted  with 
other  centers  including  open  country  stands,  nearby  competing  towns 
of  similar  size,  large  city  centers  or  mail  order  houses,  when  the 
reasons  for  such  successful  competition  appear  to  be  “Convenience”  and 
“nearest”  of  location. 

The  area  comparisions  intended  to  show  the  extent  to  which  the 
trade  towns  are  able  to  extend  this  grocery  service,  reveal  that  Cam- 
bridge fills  43.1  per  cent  of  its  maximum  service  area,  Cottage  Grove 
40.0  per  cent,  Deerfield  44.5  per  cent,  Stoughton  41.4  per  cent,  Elkhorn 
63.6  per  cent  and  Waupaca  44.2  per  cent.  With  the  exception  of  Elk- 
horn the  uniformity  is  striking. 

Furniture.  The  reasons  determining  this  trade  service  in  Dane 
County  continue  to  be  the  matter  of  nearness  of  location  though  it  is 
in  a much  less  decided  proportion  than  in  the  case  of  groceries.  In 
the  Walworth  County  area  it  is  very  clearly  a matter  of  “price”.  In 
the  Waupaca  area  the  answers  given  were  very  small  due  to  the  fact 
that  little  furniture  had  been  purchased  for  some  time  previous  to  the 
making  of  the  filed  study.  Table  XXII  gives  the  complete  figures. 

Table  XXII— Reasons  for  Selecting  any  Town  as  a Trading  Center  for  Furniture 


Furniture  Trading  Distributed  by  County  Areas  in  Per  Cent 
and  in  Number 


Reasons  for  selecting 
any  town 

IN  PER  CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

All 

areas 

Dane 

county 

Wal- 

worth 

county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

All 

areas 

Dane 

county 

Wal- 

worth 

county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

787 

307 

212 

268 

Best  goods 

10.8 

16.1 

11.3 

4.3 

85 

4934 

24 

1134 

Nearest , 

10.1 

22.6 

1.4 

2.6 

79^ 

693/2 

3 

7 

Better  price 

9.8 

6.0 

23.4 

3.5 

77M 

183/2 

4934 

934 

Friends  or  relatives 

7.1 

12.9 

7.5 

55^ 

3934 

16 

Most  convenient 

4.3 

9.8 

1.7 

3334 

30 

334 

Larger  town 

2.6 

6.7 

20  Vi 

2034 

Unspecified 

55.3 

25.9 

54.7 

89.6 

43534 

7934 

116 

240 

The  areas  of  the  furniture  trade  for  the  small  towns  of  Cambridge 
and  Deerfield  were  well  restricted.  Elkhorn  and  Stoughton  were  able  to 
distribute  nearly  to  the  borders  of  their  maximum  services  areas. 
Waupaca  extends  its  service  well  over  the  southern  portion  of  the 
area  but  meets  difficulties  of  encroaching  competition  to  the  north. 

Clothing.  The  investigation  of  the  service  of  merchandising  in 
clothing  included  both  good  clothing  and  work  clothes  and  for  both 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


49 


FIG.  6.— THE  ECONOMIC  SERVICE-GROCERIES 


50 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


Table  XXIII. — Reasons  for  Selecting  Ant  Town  as  a Trading  Center  for  Clothing  of  All  Kinds* 


Clothing  Trade  Distributed  by  the  County  Areas  in  Per  Cent 
and  in  Number 


neasuus  xur  selecting 
clothing  town 

IN  PER  CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

All 

areas 

Dane 

county 

Wal- 

worth 

county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

All 

areas 

Dane 

county 

Wal- 

worth 

county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

l Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

3148 

1228 

848 

1072 

Best  goods 

17.5 

27.6 

1.0 

18.9 

550 

33834 

834 

203 

Variety  and  selection 

9.9 

9.3 

11.3 

9.7 

312)4 

11334 

9534 

10334 

Best  price 

9.7 

7.8 

13.4 

9.0 

306 

96 

11334 

9634 

Nearest 

7.6 

10.8 

.5 

9.8 

240 

13034 

434 

105 

Most  convenient 

5.2 

10.4 

1.9 

1.8 

164 

my 

16 

1934 

Friends  or  relatives 

2.4 

4.2 

1.5 

1.0 

75y2 

52 

1234 

11 

Unspecified 

47.7 

30.1 

70.4 

49.8 

1500 

369 

59734 

53334 

*This  table  as  well  as  the  two  following  are  summaries  of  the  answers  to  four  questions  regarding  the 
clothing  trade,  namely,  good  clothes  and  work  clothes  for  both  men  and  women.  This  makes  the  totals  just 
four  times  larger  than  the  total  number  of  schedules  in  each  area. 


Table  XXIV. — Reasons  for  Selecting  the  Particular  Trade  Towns  as  Clothing  Centers 


Clothing  Trade  of  the  Six  Trade  Towns  Compared 
in  Per  Cent  and  in  Number 


Reasons  for  selecting  the 
particular  trade  town 

A 

IN  PER  CENT 

All 

trade 

towns 

Dane  County 

Wal- 

worth 

county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

Cam- 

bridge 

Cot- 

tage 

Grove 

Deer- 

field 

Stough- 

ton 

Elk- 

horn 

Wau- 

paca 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

Best  goods 

22.9 

9.3 

4.3 
11.6 

5.3 
1.8 

44.8 

67.3 

61.9 

45.3 

4.4 

19.3 

3.1 

1.7 
16.8 

6.8 

5.1 
47.2 

.3 

7.2 

10.7 

.3 

3.2 
.6 

77.7 

27.0 

16.3 

3.4 

16.0 
1.3 

.2 

35.8 

Variety  and  selection 

Best  price 

Nearest 

Most  convenient 

Friends  or  relatives 

1 nsi.  ecified 

4.5 
16.3 

5.5 
6.4 

14.3 

12.4 
1.9 
9.5 

10.1 

25.1 

3.1 

12.0 

B 

IN  N 

UMBER 

Total 

139034 

55 

5234 

7934 

30334 

332 

568 

Best  goods 

31834 

12934 

5934 

161 

74 

25 

623 

37 

3234 

36 

5834 

934 

5 

51 

2034 

1534 

14334 

1 

15334 

9234 

19 

91 

734 

1 

20334 

Variety  and  selection 

334 

8 

20 

234 

934 

24 

3534 

1 

1034 

2 

258 

Best  price 

Nearest 

234 

9 

3 

334 

734 

634 

1 

5 

Most  convenient 

Friends  or  relatives 

Unspecified 

men  and  women.  In  “good  clothing”  is  included  womens’  "ready  to 
wear”  and  suits  and  coats  for  men  and  women  alike. 

The  reasons  given  for  going  to  any  center  for  any  kind  of  cloth- 
ing are  shown  in  Table  XXIII.  The  figures  are  a summary  of  four 
questions  relating  to  good  clothes  and  work  clothes  for  both  men  and 
women.  “Best  goods”  is  the  leading  answer  for  the  Dane  and  Waupaca 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


51 


FIG.  7.— THE  ECONOMIC  SERVICE— FURNITURE. 


52 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


Table  XXV. — Reasons  for  Trading  in  Clothing  of  all  Kinds  in  Centers  Other  Than  the  Particu- 
lar Trade  Towns 


The  Trade  Towns  and  Other  Centers  Compared  in 
Per  Cent  and  in  Number 


Reasons  for  selecting  a 
particular  center 

A 

IN  PER  CENT 

1 

All 

trading 

centers 

The 

six 

trade 

towns 

Com- 

peting 

towns 

Small 

open 

country 

centers 

Large  - 
city 
center 

Mail 

ojder 

houses 

Un- 

specified 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

Best  goods 

17.8 

22.9 

14.9 

28.4 

20.8 

4.1 

Variety  and  selection 

10.2 

9.3 

6.7 

29.3 

2.2 

Best  price 

9.8 

4.3 

9.2 

12.6 

5.9 

58.9 

Nearer  

7.9 

11.6 

5.4 

13.4 

7.4 

Most  convenient 

5.2 

5.3 

3.5 

22.0 

6.8 

7.6 

Friends  or  relatives 

2.5 

1.8 

3.2 

1.6 

5.7 

.4 

Unspecified 

46.6 

44.8 

57.1 

22.0 

24.1 

26.8 

100 

B 

IN  N 

UMBER 

Total 

3148 

139034 

838 34 

63 

43934 

231 

185 

Best  goods  . 

562 

318*4 

12434 

18 

9134 

9 34 

Variety  and  selection 

31934 

129  34 

5634 

12834 

5 

Best  price 

307 

59}4 

7734 

8 

26 

136 

Nearest 

247 

161 

45 

8 34 

3234 

Most  convenient 

165 

74 

2934 

■ 14 

30  “ 

1734 

Friends  or  relatives 

7834 

25 

2634 

1 

' 25 

1 

Unspecified 

1469 

623 

479 

14 

106 

62 

185 

County  areas  while  “price”  is  the  chief  consideration  in  the  Walworth 
County  area.  Both  the  good  clothing  and  the  work  clothes  followed 
this  ranking  when  analyzed  separately.  When  the  six  trade  towns  were 
compared  by  themselves  “best  goods”  continued  to  lead  in  five  of  the 
town  areas  while  the  Elkhorn  area  stayed  in  line  with  its  count}’ 
answers  with  “price”  the  determiner.  The  summary  of  competing 
centers  shows  “best  goods”  also  in  the  lead  for  the  cases  of  other  near- 
by towns  and  even  for  the  open  country  stands.  The  reasons  given 
for  large  city  trading  in  clothing  is  “better  varieties  and  more  selection” 
and  with  the  mail  order  trade,  “price”  is  the  overwhelming  considera- 
tion. 

The  widest  contrast  in  area  distribution  of  services  appears  in  the 
item  of  clothing.  The  extremes  are  presented  by  the  good  clothing 
areas  for  Cottage  Grove  and  Waupaca.  Cottage  Grove  is  able  to 
extend  this  service  but  little  beyond  its  own  village  limits.  Waupaca 
on  the  other  hand  spreads  the  service  until  it  almost  completely  fills 
the  maximum  service  area.  In  fact  it  is  this  one  service  which  has 
determined  more  than  any  other,  the  extended  points  of  this  maximum 
service  area,  particularly  to  the  north  of  the  town.  Between  these  two 
extremes  the  other  towns  arrange  themselves  in  a definite  order.  The 
smaller  centers  of  Cambridge  and  Deerfield  are  not  able  to  extend  this 
area  as  widely  as  those  of  work  clothes  and  groceries,  while  Elkhorn 
and  Stoughton  seem  to  represent  half  way  points  where  good  clothing, 
work  clothes  and  grocery  areas  are  approximate^  coincident.  There 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


53 


FIG.  8.— THE  ECONOMIC  SERVICE— WORK  CLOTHES 


54 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


FIG.  9.— THE  ECONOMIC  SERVICE— GOOD  CLOTHES 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


55 


would  seem  to  be  a rather  direct  relation  between  the  size  of  the 
town  and  its  good  clothing  service  area.  Stoughton  becomes  an  ex- 
ception due  to  the  fact  that  it  is  surrounded  by  more  active  competition 
than  is  Waupaca.  The  area  for  work  clothes  in  contrast  to  good 
clothing  coincides  almost  exactly  with  the  grocery  areas  for  each  of  the 
six  towns  quite  independent  of  their  size  or  location. 

The  detailed  measurements  of  the  good  clothing  service  in  com- 
parison with  the  maximum  areas  for  the  various  towns  is  as  follows  : 
Cambridge,  19.3  per  cent;  Cottage  Grove,  3.5  per  cent;  Deerfield,  21.7 
per  cent ; Stoughton,  65.0  per  cent ; Elkhorn,  66.1  per  cent ; and  Wau- 
paca, 93.4  per  cent. 

Machinery.  “Good  agent  and  service”  are  the  leading  reasons  given 
for  going  to  any  center  for  buying  farm  machinery.  Table  XXVI  in- 

Tabi/e  XXVI. — Reasons  for  Selecting  Ant  Center  for  Trading  in  Farm  Machinery 


Machinery  Trading  Distributed  by  Areas  in  Per  Cent  and  in  Number 


Reasons  for  trading 
in  machinery 

IN  PER 

CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

All 

areas 

Dane 

county 

Wal- 

worth 

county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

All 

areas 

Dane 

county 

Wal- 

worth 

county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

787 

307 

212 

268 

Good  agent  and  service 

19.6 

34.4 

3.1 

15.7 

154 

10534 

634 

42 

Better  price 

17.3 

8.1 

35.3 

13.4 

136 

25 

75 

36 

Nearest 

11.7 

16.8 

2.1 

13.6 

92^ 

5134 

434 

3634 

Friend  or  relative 

4.9 

9.9 

.5 

2.6 

3834 

3014 

1 

7 

Most  convenient 

3.7 

4.1 

.5 

5.8 

29 

1234 

1 

1534 

Unspecified 

42.8 

26.7 

58.5 

48.9 

337 

82 

124 

131 

dicates  that  Walworth  County,  however,  insists  upon  the  exception  and 
“price”  is  given  the  first  place.  The  area  of  distribution  for  this  kind 
of  merchandise  appears  in  every  case  to  be  somewhat  larger  than  the 
grocery  and  more  nearly  equal  to  the  general  trade  areas.  The  smaller 

Table  XXVII. — Reasons  for  Selecting  Any  Town  as  a Banking  Center 


Banking  Distributed  by  the  County  Areas  in  Per  Cent  and  in 
Number 


Reasons  for  selecting 
a town 

IN  PER  CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

All 

areas 

Dane 

county 

Wal- 

worth 

county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

All 

areas 

Dane 

county 

Wal- 

worth 

county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

787 

307 

212 

268 

Trade  center 

30.9 

22.1 

52.8 

23.5 

243 

68 

112 

63 

Nearest 

20.0 

41.1 

.7 

11.0 

157 

126 

134 

15 

2934 

Most  convenient..  . . 

7.2 

10.1 

7.1 

3.9 

5634 

3634 

34 

31 

1034 

Friends  or  relatives 

4.6 

3.1 

8.5 

3.4 

9H 

1334 

534 

234 

51 

18 

9 

“Alwavs  have” 

4.3 

4.4 

4.5 

9.4 

4.1 

9M 

20 

11 

Best  service 

4.1 

1.8 

2.6 

1.1 

3234 

8'A 

219 

7 

Stockholder  , . 

1.1 

.8 

1.4 

3 

3 

Unspecified 

27.8 

16.6 

15.6 

50.4 

33 

135 

56 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


FIG.  10.— THE  FINANCIAL  SERVICE— BANKING 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


57 


FIG.  11.— THE  MARKETING  SERVICE— PRODUCE  OR  SHIPPING  CONCERN 


58 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


towns  as  Cottage  Grove  for  example,  seem  to  be  especially  successful 
in  pushing  out  this  service  beyond  the  limits  of  some  of  the  other 
services  because  they  are  apparently  able  to  compete  with  the  larger 
cities  such  as  Madison.  This  is  borne  out  by  the  answers  where 
“nearness  and  convenience”  figure  strongly. 

Financing.  A number  of  services  offered  by  towns  to  surrounding 
country  come  within  this  caption  but  only  banking  will  -be  reported. 

Banking.  The  generalization  regarding  banking  as  one  of  the 
financial  services  offered  to  farmers  by  a town  is  to  the  effect  that  it 
follows  general  trade  in  both  considerations  of  extent  and  of  reasons. 
Table  XXVII  shows  “trade  center”  as  the  chief  reason  for  banking  in 
any  town  and  this  for  all  areas  except  Dane  County  where  “nearest” 
is  slightly  in  advance.  This  answer  is  not  so  different,  however,  than 
“trade  center”  since  it  was  “nearest”  which  was  the  chief  factor  in 
in  determining  the  “general  trade”  service.  When  the  six  town  areas 
were  compared  singly,  each  followed  the  tendency  of  answers  for  the 
county  of  which  it  was  a part.  The  “trade  center”  reason  continued  to 
lead  also  when  “other  centers”  were  summarized  such  as  the  nearby 
towns  and  even  the  large  city  centers. 

In  the  area  comparisons  the  banking  service  continued  to  follow 
the  trade  areas  rather  closely.  The  Stoughton  area  inclines  to  become 
somewhat  smaller  due  partially  at  least  to  the  competition  offered  by 
the  several  surrounding  towns. 

Marketing.  The  marketing  service  was  examined  with  reference 
to  such  general  products  as  milk,  butter  and  eggs  in  all  areas  and  such 
particular  products  as  tobacco  in  Dane  County  and  potatoes  in  Waupaca 
County.  Judged  by  the  area  comparisons  this  service  tends  to  follow 
the  trade  areas  although  it  is  uniformly  somewhat  smaller.  The 
grocery  area  and  the  marketing  area  more  nearly  coincide.  The 
grocery  service  seems  to  feel  the  competitive  influence  of  small  centers 
while  marketing  areas  are  more  often  encroached  upon  by  the  larger 
nearby  towns  as  is  illustrated  by  the  Lake  Mills  encroachments  into 
the  Deerfield  area.  Cambridge  is  under  a decided  disadvantage  in  this 
service  due  to  its  lack  of  railroad  transportation. 


THE  COMMUNICATION  SERVICE 

Roads.  The  large  maps  showing  the  areas  studied  indicate  the 
distribution  of  state  and  county  trunk  highways.  In  Dane  County  all 
roads  including  the  railroads  lead  to  Madison.  This  city  stands  at 
the  hub  of  a radiating  communication  system.  Stoughton  is  located 
on  two  trunk  lines,  one  state  and  one  county.  Cambridge  has  a state 
highway  which  becomes  a decided  .asset  in  its  service  relations.  Cottage 
Grove  although  having  a county  road  lies  between  two  important 
arteries  and  is  somewhat  at  a disadvantage  especially  in  its  service 
areas  in  the  direction  of  Madison. 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


59 


FIG.  12.— THE  COMMUNICATION  SERVICE— MAIL  DELIVERY 


60 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


61 


Waupaca  has  four  state  and  two  county  highways  entering  its 
corporate  limits.  The  direct  influence  of  these  roads  in  bulging  out  the 
maximum  service  area  at  various  points  especially  to  the  north  is  very 
clearly  in  evidence.  In  the  Elkhorn  area  facility  of  transportation  has 
reached  its  highest  development.  Not  only  do  three  state  and  one 
county  highway  enter  the  town  but  much  of  the  surface  of  its  high- 
ways are  concrete  and  the  influence  was  evidenced  by  the  greater 
distance  which  people  in  this  area  were  willing  and  accustomed  to  travel 
as  compared  to  the  other  counties. 

Rural  Mail  Delivery.  The  service  area  maps  for  governmental 
free  delivery  of  mail  do  not  seem  to  possess  any  direct  relationship  to 
any  other  of  the  service  areas.  The  total  extent  of  the  areas  are  not 
so  different  from  the  general  trade  areas  for  example,  but  their  dis- 
tributions are  completely  different.  Cottage  Grove  has  a narrow  elongat- 
ed area  while  Deerfield  and  Elkhorn  are  restricted  on  one  side  almost 
to  their  corporate  limits.  The  consequence  of  this  arrangement  means 
that  often  the  town  cannot  maintain  direct  communication  with  the 
farm  families  in  its  service  area.  Such  families  claiming  a town  as 
their  center  must  accept  another  town  as  their  post  office  address  and 
must  expect  the  mail  from  their  own  town  to  be  delayed  at  least  a 
day.  Table  XXVIII  is  a percentage  table  representing  the 
proportion  of  families  who  received  their  mail  from  the  center  which 
they  claim  as  their  general  trade  center.  The  families  interviewed,  it 
will  be  recalled,  are  those  living  near  the  border  of  the  trade  areas. 
Those  families  located  nearer  the  center,  of  course,  usually  get  their 
mail  direct  but  after  all,  it  is  those  outlying  families  which  are  really 
important  to  the  town  because  of  possible  competition  from  other 
centers.  The  percentage  of  people  claiming  the  town  as  trade  center, 
who  also  have  it  as  their  post  office,  ranges  from  71  to  87  per  cent. 
The  counterpart  of  this  table  would  be  that  the  towns  in  question 
supply  mail  to  families  claiming  membership  in  trade  areas  of  border- 
ing towns. 

Telephone  Service.  The  telephone  exchange  areas  generally  follow 
more  nearly  the  general  trade  lines  than  does  the  mail  service.  Elk- 
horn has  been  especially  successful  in  extending  this  service  well 
toward  the  limits  of  the  maximum  service  area.  Stoughton,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  much  hemmed  in  on  the  north  by  a strong  independent 
company  with  an  exchange  at  Kegonsa. 

The  Local  Newspaper.  No  maps  or  tables  are  presented  for  the 
newspaper  service  because  of  the  difficulty  of  showing  clearly  the  wide 
areas  covered  and  the  many  overlappings.  In  every  case  with  the 
possible-  exception  of  Elkhorn  where  the  newspaper  area  tends  to  follow 
the  “Rural  Free  Delivery”  area,  the  laboratory  maps  show  that  the 
local  press  service  of  each  of  the  six  towns  extends  well  beyond  the 
limits  accepted  as  the  maximum  service  boundaries.  Cottage  Grove 
does  not  have  a local  paper.  The  two  Waupaca  news  sheets  have  a 


62 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


FIG.  13 — THE  COMMUNICATION  SERVICE— TELEPHONE 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


63 


FIG.  14.— THE  EDUCATIONAL  SERVICE— HIGH  SCHOOL 


v o 3 


64 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


FIG.  15.— THE  RELIGIOUS  SERVICE -CHURCH 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


65 


circulation  covering  virtually  the  whole  county.  Dane  County  is  also 
pretty  well  covered  by  Madison  as  well  as  Milwaukee  dailies. 

THE  ORGANIZATION  SERVICE 

The  High  School.  The  educational  service  of  the  town  only 
through  its  high  school  will  be  considered.  The  elementary  schooling 
for  the  farm  children  in  the  area  studied  is  given  by  the  district 
schools  and  by  the  graded  schools  for  town  children.  There  are  no 
consolidated  schools  in  the  areas.  The  service  areas  mapped,  it  should 
be  observed,  do  not  represent  legal  areas  but  rather  the  areas  from 
which  farm  children  are  drawn  to  the  town’s  high  schools.  The  local 
townships  pay  the  tuition  charge  for  this  service  and  the  farmers  have 
no  voice  in  the  management  of  the  schools. 

A schedule  canvass  of  all  the  high  school  pupils  in  Dane  County  as 
well  as  those  in  the  Waupaca  schools  shows  that  the  predominating 
reason  for  attending  this  or  that  town  high  school  was  because  it  was 
the  “nearest”  high  school.  In  Dane  County  53  per  cent  of  the  farm 
children  travel  less  than  four  miles  to  high  school.  The  great  majority 
of  these  are  at  home  night  and  morning  to  help  with  the  work.  The 
distance  from  the  school  appears  to  vary  directly  with  the  size  of  the 
town  and  the  school. 

THE  RELIGIOUS  SERVICE 

The  Church.  The  service  areas  of  the  towns  respecting  church 
attendance  are  all  comparatively  smaller  than  the  other  areas  studied 
up  to  this  point.  Elkhorn  appears  to  be  an  exception  but  farm  families 
having  church  connections  in  Elkhorn  are  sparcely  distributed  over 
the  occupied  area.  One  reason  for  this  more  limited  service  of  the 

Table  XXIX. — Reasons  for  Selecting  Ant  Particular  Center  for  Church  Attendance 


Church  Attendance  Distributed  by  the  County  Areas  in 
Per  Cent  and  in  Number 


reasons  ior  selecting  a 
particular  center 

IN  PER  CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

Total 

Dane 

Wal- 

worth 

Wau- 

paca 

Total 

Dane 

Wal- 

worth 

Wau- 

paca 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

787 

307 

212 

268 

Preferred  denomination  lo- 

cated theri  - 

18.2 

17.9 

2.8 

30.6 

143 

55 

6 

82 

Nearest 

16.4 

17.3 

4.7 

24.6 

129 

53 

10 

66 

Always  attended  there 

16.2 

28.0 

5.6 

11.2 

128 

86 

12 

30 

Prefer  country  church 

7.1 

.7 

22.1 

2.6 

56 

2 

47 

7 

Friends  or  relatives 

5.9 

10.4 

4.2 

2.2 

47 

32 

9 

6 

Good  pastor 

2.5 

5.9 

.4 

.4 

20 

18 

1 

1 

Prefer  city  church 

1.0 

3 

3 

Unspecified 

21.0 

12.0 

40.0 

15.0 

161 

37 

84 

40 

Don’t  go 

12.7 

6.8 

20.2 

13.4 

100 

21 

43 

36 

66 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


town  to  the  country  is  the  presence  of  a considerable  number  of  open 
country  churches.  The  Deerfield  and  the  Stoughton  areas  are  even 
more  striking  examples  of  this  influence.  The  big  Liberty  Prairie 
open  country  church  draws  heavily  from  the  Deerfield  maximum  area 
and  the  Koshkonong  churches,  four  in  number  and  known  as  “the 
East”  and  “the  West”,  cut  down  the  Stoughton  area.  In  Walworth 
County  about  Elkhorn  the  several  open  country  churches  are  often 
known  as  “Community”  churches  where  the  local  neighborhood  con- 
sciousness is  the  bond  rather  than  nationality  linked  with  a particular 
type  of  denomination  as  is  the  case  in  many  places  in  Dane  County. 

The  tabulations  of  the  reasons  for  selecting  any  town  or  center 
for  church  attendance,  Table  XXIX,  shows  “preference  for  denomina- 
tion located  there”,  at  the  head  of  the  list.  This  answer  really  means 
that  the  farmer  goes  to  this  or  that  town  to  church  because  the 
congregation  of  his  faith  gathers  there.  The  next  reason  in  order  of 
frequency  is  “nearest”  irrespective  of  denomination  qualifications. 

There  can  be  small  doubt  that  tradition  also  plays  a large  part  in  the 
service  arrangement  since-  the  reason  “always  attended  there”,  bulks 
rather  large.  It  is  significant  to  note  the  variations  in  the  percentages 
of  “don’t  go”  and  “unspecified”.  Walforth  County  heads  the  list  with 
high  percentages  in  both  counts.  Waupaca  County  comes  next  and  is 
followed  by  Dane  County  which  has  a rather  low  figure  of  non-at- 
tendance. Another  phase  of  the  general  service  which  should  be 
studied  is  that  of  religious  education. 

THE  SOCIAL  SERVICE 

Within  the  social  activity  service  is  included  a number  of  activities 
with  the  sociability  idea  uppermost,  such  as  parties,  socials,  movies  and 
other  informal  recreational  affairs.  From  the  mapping  it  can  be  seen 
that  this  service  area  for  the  town  is  rather  uniformly  more  re- 
stricted than  the  general  trade  areas  and  more  nearly  approximates 

the  grocery  or  the  high  school  areas  in  extent  though  of  different  dis- 
tribution. In  the  Elkhorn  and  Waupaca  areas  the  open  country  com- 
munity centers,  clubs,  or  houses  are  noticeable  in  their  influence.  In 
Waupaca  County  also  the  significance  of  good  roads  in  determining 
the  shape  of  the  social  area  is  clearly  seen. 

A comparison  of  the  social  and  church  relations  of  the  families 
of  the  high  school  children  in  Dane  County  tells  an  interesting  story. 
It  is  evident  from  Table  XXX  that  people  both  of  the  village  and  the 
farm  are  able  to  distribute  some  of  their  social  activity  widely.  Al- 
though the  high  school  towns  command  much  of  the  interest  yet  other 
towns  come  in  for  their  share.  In  contrast  with  church  activity  the 
social  activity  is  divided  more  widely  between  towns. 

O'f  the  reasons  given  by  the  farm  families  for  se^cting  any  center 
for  social  activity,  Table  XXXI,  shows  that  “friends  01  relatives”  comes 
first  and  “preference  for  local”  activities  is  second.  This  does  not  imply 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


67 


FIG.  16.— THE  SOCIAL  SERVICE— SOCIABILITY,  FORMAL  AND  INFORMAL 


68 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


that  much  of  the  social  life  is  not  spread  over  wider  territory  and  that 
recreational  trips  are  not  taken  or  that  social  affairs  far  away  from 
home  are  not  engaged  in,  but  it  apparently  does  mean  that  for  a 
regular  social  program  the  local,  personal,  face  to  face  contacts  count 
most.  The  percentage  of  answers  of  “don’t  go”  is  rather  large  and  it 
is  very  uniform  in  all  areas.  Here  again  it  does  not  indicate  that 
people  giving  such  negative  answers  have  no  leisure  time' activity  at  all 
but  rather  that  they  do  not  count  upon  it  regularly  and  do  not  con- 
sider themselves  a part  of  such  a program  either  in  town  or  at  the  local 
center. 


Table  XXX. — Church  and  Social  Relations  of  Families  of  All  High  School  Children 
in  Dane  County 


Church  and  Social  Activity  and  Where  Families  Live  in  Per 
Cent  and  in  Number 


Place  of  attendance 

IN  PER  CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

Church 

Soc 

dal 

Church 

Social 

In 

On 

In 

On 

In 

On 

In 

Od 

tovn 

farm 

town 

farm 

town 

farm 

town 

farm 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

387 

430 

387 

430 

Hgh  school  town 

86.4 

59.7 

58.4 

53.7 

334 

257 

226 

231 

Other  towns 

10.8 

37.0 

13.4 

6.3 

42 

159 

52 

70 

Divided  between  school  town 
and  other  towns 

1.0 

2.7 

25.6 

27.0 

4 

11 

99 

116 

Not  specif!  ed 

1.8 

.6 

2.6 

3.0 

7 

3 

10 

13 

Table  XXXI.— Reasons  for  Selecting  Any  Center  for  Social  Acrivirr 


Social  Activities  Distributed  by  the  County  Areas  in  Per  Cent 
and  in  Number 


Reasons  for  selecting 
any  center 

IN  PER  CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

Total 

Dane 

Elk- 

horn 

Wau- 

paca 

Total 

Dane 

Elk- 

horn 

Wau- 

paca 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

787 

307 

212 

268 

Friends  or  relatives 

14.6 

32.5 

1.9 

4.1 

115 

100 

4 

11 

Prefer  local  activities 

10.8 

6.2 

12.3 

14.9 

85 

19 

26 

40 

Church  center 

9.3 

18.2 

4.7 

2.6 

73 

56 

10 

7 

Nearest 

8.9 

6.1 

21.3 

70 

13 

57 

Good  club  or  organization 

4.6 

6.8 

1.4 

4.5 

36 

....  ^ 

3 

12 

Movies 

2.4 

1.9 

2.4 

3.0 

19 

6 

5 

8 

Prefer  larger  town 

1.1 

1.6 

1.5 

9 

5 

4 

Unspecified 

33.6 

17.6 

57.1 

33.2 

264 

54 

121 

89 

Don’t  go 

14.7 

15.0 

14.1 

14.9 

116 

46 

30 

40 

THE  EDUCATIONAL  SERVICE 

Within  the  classification  of  services,  rendered  by  a town  as  hav- 
ing to  do  with  farmers’  organizations,  is  included  cooperation  and  as- 
sistance in  farmer  or  community  clubs,  or  movements  such  as  Grange, 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


69 


FIG.  17.— THE  ORGANIZATION  SERVICE— FARMERS’  CLUBS  AND  COM 

MUNITY  ORGANIZATIONS 


70 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


Equity,  Farm  Bureau  or  Breeders’  Association.  Such  service  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  town  may  be  still  considered  small  yet  if  the  town  is 
to  be  of  wide  service  this  form  of  activity  can  be  included  in  its  program 
if  it  is  nothing  more  than  serving  as  a headquarters  and  meeting  place. 
The  area  maps  of  this  service  relationship  for  every  town  under  study 
is  very  much  restricted.  Only  Elkhorn  and  Deerfield  even  come  near 
approximating  their  grocery  areas.  This  condition  is  probably  due  to 
at  least  three  causes,  namely  centering  of  the  activity  of  these  clubs 

Table  XXXII. — Reasons  for  Selecting  Any  Center  for  Farmer  Club  Activity 


Farmers’  Organization  Distributed  by  the  County  Areas  in 
Per  Cent  and  in  Number 


xveitauua  iui 

any  center 

in  per  cent 

IN  NUMBER 

Total 

Dane 

Wal- 

worth 

Wau- 

paca 

Total 

Dane 

Wal- 

worth 

Wau- 

paca 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

787 

307 

212 

268 

Organization  meets  there 

16.0 

13.0 

32.1 

6.7 

126 

40 

68 

18 

Nearest 

6.8 

1.0 

.9 

18.3 

54 

3 

2 

49 

Prefer  local  meetings 

2.2 

6.0 

16 

16 

Trade  town 

1.4 

3.3 

0.4 

11 

10 

1 

Unspecified 

39.6 

73.0 

4.3 

29.4 

312 

224 

9 

79 

Don’t  go 

34.0 

9.7 

62.7 

39.2 

268 

30 

133 

105 

and  organizations  at  open  country  points,  failure  of  the  town  to 
recognize  in  this  relationship  an  opportunity  for  service  and  finally  the 
very  low  percentage  of  farmers  vitally  interested  in  this  line  of  en- 
deavor. In  Table  XXXII  this  last  point  is  clearly  shown  under  the 
captions  of  “don’t  go”  and  “unspecified.”  Even  in  Walworth  County 
where  two  years  previously  one  of  the  organizations  boasted  of  a very 
large  membership  and  influence,  the  enumerator  could  work  for 
whole  days  without  finding  a farmer  who  would  confess  to  member- 
ship in  the  movements. 

COMPETING  SERVICE  CENTERS 

The  City  Center.  That  the  farmer  does  have  trading  relations  with 
the  larger  city  is  clearly  shown  by  such  results  as  are  included  in  Table 
XXXIII  which  includes  the  answers  from  all  of  the  787  farm  families. 
The  so-called  better  grades  of  clothing  very  clearly  stand  out  as  the 
leading  item  for  which  the  farmer  looks  to  the  city.  The  reason  for  this 
buying  is  because  he  believes  he  has  a “larger  variety  and  selection.” 
When  the  Madison  buying  is  separated  from  the  above  tabulation  the 
results  are  seen  in  Table  XXXIV.  The  percentages  are  almost  identical 
when  this  Madison  trade  is  localized  and  distributed  with  reference  to 
the  town  trade  areas  in  which  the  farm  families  live.  In  all  the  trade 
areas,  “good  clothing”  is  the  thing  which  bulked  largest.  The  percent- 
age which  this  item  of  trade  has  to  all  purchasers  in  Madison,  is  very 
uniform  for  all  the  areas  but  the  proportionate  number  of  families  from 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


71 


Table  XXXIII— What  the  Farm  Families  in  All  Areas  But  in  the  Large  City  Centers  and  Why 


Reasons 
for  buying 
in  large 
city  centers 

Kinds  of  Merchandise  Purchas 

sed  in  Per  Cent  and  in  Amount 

IN  PER  CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

All  kinds 

Better  clothing 

* 

1 

b 

Q 

Groceries 

1 Furniture  and 
furnishings 

Luxuries 

All  kinds 

Better  clot  hing 

| Dry  Goods 

| Groceries 

Furniture  and 
furnishings 

Luxuries 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

18534 

16334 

5M 

3 

934 

334 

Larger  variety 
and  selection.. 

Better  price 

Friend  or  rela- 
tive 

30.2 

18.2 

10.8 

9.2 

8.2 
8.0 

15.4 

30.0 

16.1 

11.6 

8.9 

9.0 

8.3 

16.1 

47.8 

26.1 

58.3 

33.3 
25.6 

10.3 
20.5 

10.3 

26.7 

46.7 

56.0 
33M 

20.0 

17.0 

1534 

U% 

2834 

49.0 
2634 

19.0 

1434 

14M 

1334 

2634 

234 

134 

134 

334 

234 

1.0 

2.0 

1.0 

1 

134 

Not  available 

locally 

Better  quality 

and  style 

Nearest 

Unspecified 

4.3 

8.7 

13.1 

25.0 

16.7 

13.3 

13.3 

34 

34 

% 

H 

34 

34 

34 

Table  XXXIV. — What  the  Farm  Families  of  Eastern  Dane  County  Buy  in  Madison  and  Why 


Kinds  of  Merchandise  Purchased  in  Madison 


Reasons 
for  buying 
in  Madison 

iN  PER  CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

All  kinds 

Good  clothing 

| Dry  goods  | 

Groceries 

House 

furnishings 

Luxuries 

All  kinds 

Good  clothing  | 

Dry  goods 

Groceries 

House 

( furnishings 

| Luxuries 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

139 

12134 

434 

3 

8 

2 

Larger  variety 

and  selection 

29.5 

30.0 

33.3 

37.5 

41 

3634 

134 

3 

Not  available 

locally 

21.6 

20.6 

50.0 

50.0 

30 

25 

4 

1 

Nearest  ... 

18.3 

18.8 

22.3 

50.0 

2534 

23 

1 

134 

Better  quality 

and  st  le 

10.1 

10.3 

11.1 

50.0 

14 

1234 

34 

1 

Better  price 

3.9 

4.1 

16.7 

534 

5 

34 

Friend  or  rela- 

tive  

2.9 

3.3 

4 

4 

Unspecified  

13.7 

12.8 

33.3 

33.3 

12.5 

19 

1534 

134 

l 

1 

the  Stoughton  area  who  come  to  this  city  for  any  trading  is  very  much 
smaller  than  from  the  other  areas.  In  Figure  18  the  distribution  of 
these  zones  of  influence  is  pictured.  The  lines  marking  off  these  zones 
have  the  appearance  of  isothermic  lines  swinging  away  from  certain 
of  the  small  town  centers.  Stoughton  is  able  to  ward  off  all  the 
competition  in  its  immediate  area  excepting  the  direct  mail  advertising. 
The  first  three  zones  including  the  more  or  less  regular  trade  in 
groceries,  work  clothes  and  the  banking  swing  out  away  from  Madison 


72 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


about  eight  or  nine  miles  on  the  average.  The  next  set  of  services, 
furniture  and  good  clothes  extend  their  zones  on  the  average  from 
• nineteen  to  twenty-one  miles,  while  the  advertising  is  extended  beyond 
the  bounds  of  the  county. 

The  Open  Country  Stand.  On  the  service  area  maps  the  open 
country  centers  have  always  been  indicated  by  a circle  although  no  at- 
tempt has  been  made  to  outline  the  areas  of  their  influence.  The 
presence  of  these  open  country  stands  has  been  much  more  in  evidence 
in  the  non-commercial  lines  of  service  such  as  church,  club  and  social 
activity  although  they  appear  in  the  grocery  areas  in  the  form  of  cross- 
roads general  stores.  Many  of  these  stores,  despite  general  opinion  to 
the  contrary,  report  that  their  business  is  good ; the  character  of  the 
trade  has  changed  a good  deal,  to  be  sure,  due  to  the  trunk  system  of 
highways  and  the  automobile.  Many  farm  families  reported  that  they 
traded  at  these  open  country  stores  because  they  were  “nearest”  and 
that  they  went  there  for  what  was  often  termed  “convenience”  goods  and 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


73 


Table  XXXV. — What  tHE  Farm  Families  in  All  Areas  But  in  the  Small  Open  Country  Centers 

and  Why 


Kinds  of  Merchandise  Purchased  in  Per  Cent  and  in  Number 


Reasons  for  buying  in 
the  small  country  centers 

IN  PER  CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

All 

kinds 

Gro- 

ceries 

Dry 

goods 

Cloth- 

ing 

All 

kinds 

Gro- 

ceries 

Dry 

goods 

Cloth- 

ing 

Total 

IDO 

100 

100 

100 

287^ 

275 

4 

8J4 

Nearest 

Most  convenient 

Market  for  produce 

46.8 

35.5 

5.9 

5.2 

2.6 

4.0 

46.3 

35.8 

6.2 

4.9 

2.6 

4.2 

25.0 

50.0 

70.6 

17.6 

134  H 
102 
17 
15 

127M 
98  M 
17 

1314 

,7 

ny2 

1 

2 

6 

Good  line  of  goods 

Better  price 

Unspecified 

12.5 

12.5 

11.8 

Vi 

Vi 

i 

of  course  groceries  formed  the  bulk  of  such  orders.  Table  XXXV 
shows  this  relationship  decisively.  Some  of  the  people  when  pressed 
for  detail  about  their  relation  to  this  small  center  admitted  that 
probably  they  could  get  along  just  about  as  well  without  it  but  that 
while  it  was  there,  they  would  continue  their  patronage  because  it 
was  “so  handy.” 

The  Mail  Order  House.  Another  channel  by  which  the  farmer 
and  his  family  are  connected  with  the  outside  world  beyond  his 
neighborhood  and  his  local  town,  is  the  mail  order  house.  Much  debate 
has  centered  upon  this  issue  of  the  farmer,  the  small  town  merchant 
and  the  mail  order  house.  Table  XXXVI  should  therefore  prove  in- 


Table  XXXVI. — Proportion  of  Families  Trading  at  Mail  Order  Houses  and  the  Annual  Amount 

of  Their  Purchases 


Families  Doing  Mail  Order  Business  and  Amount  of 
Purchases 


The  town  trade  area 
in  which  families  live 

FAMILIES  TRADING  WITH  MAIL 
ORDER  HOUSES 

ANNUAL  AMOUNT  OF  MAIL 
ORDER  BUSINESS 

In  per  cent 

In  number 

Average  per 
family 

Total  amount 

Total 

38.8 

305 

$58.91 

$17,968.50 

Cambridge 

29.8 

VA 

94.12 

800.00 

Cottage  Grove 

6.8 

2 

82.50 

165.00 

Deerfield 

25.0 

9 

31.89 

287.00 

Stoughton 

13.8 

13 

29.24 

380.00 

Elkhorn 

69.3 

65^ 

54.20 

3,550.00 

Waupaca 

45.9 

54 

61.34 

3,312.00 

All  other  $reas 

39.5 

153 

139. .2 

9,474.50 

teresting  as  indicating  that  38  per  cent  of  the  787  families  interviewed 
bought  on  the  average  $58.91  worth  of  goods  from  mail  order  houses 
during  the  year  just  previous  to  the  time  of  the  study  which  was  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1922.  The  families  claiming  Elkhorn  as  their  trade 
town  showed  the  greatest  percentage  of  mail  order  buying  although 
not  the  highest  in  money  value  of  such  purchases.  There  was  every 
ev.dence  that  the  volume  of  such  purchases  had  been  considerably  re- 
duced during  the  year  under  observation  as  compared  to  the  more 


7 4 Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 

Table  XXXVII. — What  the  Farm  Families  in  All  Areas  Buy  from  Mail  Order  Houses  and  Why 


Kinds  of  Merchandise  Purchased  in  Per  Cent  and  in  Number 


Reasons  for  buying  from 
mail  order  houses 

A 

IN  PER  CENT 

All 

kinds 

Good 

clothes 

Miscel- 

laneous 

supplies 

Work 

clothes 

Hard 

ware 

supplies 

Gro- 

ceries 

Dry 

goods 

Furniture 

and 

furnishings 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

Better  price 

63.8 

68.1 

49.6 

72.6 

73.1 

66.0 

82.9 

66.7 

Good  quality 

15.3 

10.6 

27.8 

2.4 

9.0 

17.0 

4.9 

16.7 

Most  convenient 

6.8 

8.4 

6.  ' 

4.8 

1.5 

14.9 

9.8 

Not  available  locally 

5.5 

2.3 

9.0 

2.4 

14.9 

8.3 

Unspecified 

8.6 

10.6 

7.4 

17.8 

1.5 

2.1 

2.4 

8.3 

B 

IN 

NUMBER 

Total 

385 

131** 

122 

42 

3334 

2334 

203* 

12 

Better  price 

245 3*  ■ 

89  34 

60  34 

303* 

2434 

153* 

17 

8 

Good  quality 

59 

14 

34 

1 

3 

4 

1 

2 

Most  convenient  

26J4 

11 

7 34 

2 

34 

33* 

2 

Not  available  locally 

21 

3 

11 

1 

5 

1 

Unspecified 

33 

14 

9 

7 3* 

3* 

3* 

3* 

1 

prosperous  years  of  the  war  period.  In  kinds  of  purchases  and  the 
reasons  Table  XXXVII  tells  the  story.  Good  clothes  heads  the  list  as 
to  kinds  of  purchases  followed  by  a somewhat  ill-defined  group  of 
miscellaneous  supplies  and  sundries.  Groceries  is  fifth  down  the  scale. 
The  reasons  for  such  purchase  are  very  clearly  “better  prices”,  and  this 
is  uniform  for  all  the  different  kinds  of  purchases. 

The  Store  at  Your  Door.  During  the  summer  months  in  the  Dane 
County  area  a grocery  truck  called  a “Store  at  Your  Door”  travels  over 
all  the  good  roads  selling  a very  complete  line  of  groceries,  taking  eggs 
in  exchange  where  it  is  desired.  Some  of  the  trucks  also  carry  fresh 
meats  or  will  take  orders  one  day  to  be  delivered  the  next  day.  Many 
of  the  farm  women  testified  to  the  real  convenience  of  this  service 
during  the  busy  summer  months  when  so  frequently  extra  help  had  to 
be  served.  The  influence  of  this  competition  was  especially  evident  in 
the  Deerfield  and  Cottage  Grove  areas. 

DEVELOPING  THE  SERVICE  AREAS 

“The  Advertising  Game.”  Not  every  town  retailer  believes  in  de- 
veloping better  relations  throughout  his  service  area  by  advertising. 
Two  clothiers  in  different  towns  were  especially  pronounced  in  this 
opinion  since  they  contended  that  it  reflected*  upon  the  farmers’  good 
judgment  if  they  did  not  trade  at  their  stores  for  had  they  not  been  in 
business  thirty  years  and  should  not  the  farmers  know  of  the  superiority 
of  their  merchandise?  This  policy  was  not  general  however  and  Table 
XXXVIII  shows  the  advertising  activity  of  the  various  centers  in  bid- 
ding for  farmers’  trade  in  their  territory.  This  is  an  analysis  of  the 
direct  mail  advertising  simply  among  those  families  who  claimed  the 
town  as  their  trade  center  and  not  in  the  wider  area  beyond  which 
could  well  be  considered  as  prospective  territory.  Obviously  from  this 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


75 


Table  XXXVIII. — Families  Receiving  Direct  Mail  Advertising  from  Trade  Town  and  Other  Cen  • 

ters  Compared 


Centers  from  which  These  Families  Received  Direct  Mail  Advertising 
in  Per  Cent  and  in  Number 


Trade 

towns 

claiming 
town  as 
trade 
town 

IN  PER  CENT 

IN  NUMBER 

Trade 

towns 

Nearby 

com- 

peting 

town 

Large 

city 

Small 

center 

Trade 

towns 

Nearby 

com- 

peting 

town 

Large 

city 

Small 

center 

Cambridge 

28 

3.6 

50.0 

78.6 

1 

14 

22 

Cottage  Grove . . 

32 

6.2 

28.1 

50.0 

2 

9 

16 

Deerfield 

37 

56.8 

64.9 

21 

24 

Stoughton 

98 

35.7 

41.8 

53.1 

35 

41 

52 

Elkhorn 

128 

75.8 

84.4 

25.8 

97 

126 

33 

Waupaca 

124 

92.7 

72.2 

62.9 

5.6 

115 

92 

78 

7 

Table  XXXIX. — The  Use  to  Which  the  Direct  Mail  Advertising  Is  Put  in  the  Waupaca  Area 


Total. 


Pay  no  attention 

Read  and  use 

Read  and  don’t  use. 
Not.  specified 


Use  made  of  the  advertising 


Comparisons  in  Per  Cent 
and  in  Number 


In  per  cent 
100 


In  number 
268 


43.3 

20.9 

11.2 

24.6 


116 

56 

30 

66 


table  the  towns  in  Dane  County  at  least  still  have  opportunity  for  ad- 
vancement in  this  line.  It  is  evident  that  many  of  the  families  are  re- 
ceiving advertising  material  from  several  other  centers  and  that  the- 
nearby  competing  towns  and  the  larger  cities  are  actively  working  for 
trade  in  the  service  areas  of  the  local  trade  towns.  Waupaca  has  the 
best  record  with  nearly  93  per  cent  of  those  designating  it  as  their 
trade  town  receiving  the  advertising  of  its  merchants.  A special  effort 
was  made  to  study  the  effectiveness  of  their  rather  intensive  advertis- 
ing in  this  territory  and  Table  XXXIX  summarizes  the  results.  When 
those  “paying  no  attention”  to  the  advertising  are  added  to  those  who 
claim  to  receive  no  benefit  even  though  reading  it,  the  percentage  of 
seeming  ineffectiveness  goes  well  over  the  50  per  cent  mark.  A special 
study  would  be  required  to  answer  the  question  of  reasons  for  this  ap- 
parent failure. 

The  Most  Popular  Store.  Another  factor  in  developing  greater 
business  activity  in  the  service  community  is  the  regard  which  the 
customer  or  the  potential  customer  has  for  the  service  institution  its- 
self,  the  store.  Reasons  for  considering  any  store,  regardless  of  the 
line  carried,  as  the  “best  store”  in  town  are  shown  in  Table  XL.  When 
all  areas  are  taken  together  “price”,  “service”  and  “have  everything” 
bulk  about  equally  in  the  minds  of  the  50  per  cent  of  the  people  who 
had  opinions  on  the  subject  at  all.  The  item  of  “having  everything”,  of 


76 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


Table  XL. — Reasons  fob  Considering  a Particular  Store  as  “The  Best  Store”  in  Town 


“The  Best  Stores”  Distributed  bt  the  County  Areas  in  Per 
Cent  and  in  Number 


Reasons  for  store  being 
L . the  “best  store” 

All 

areas 

Dane 

county 

Wal- 

worth 

county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

All 

areas 

Dane 

county 

Wal- 

worth 

-county 

Wau- 

paca 

county 

H Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

787 

307 

212 

268 

Better  price 

12.1 

6.8 

12.7 

17.7 

%y2 

21 

27 

4734 

Best  service 

11.8  ‘ 

16.8 

7.1 

9.9 

93 

51  34 

15 

2634 

Have  everything 

10.2 

20.2 

1.2 

6.0 

so  34 

62 

234 

16 

Best  goods 

8.3 

12.2 

1.2 

9.3 

65 

37K 

234 

25 

Always  traded  there 

4.6 

6.2 

.2 

6.3 

3634 

19 

34 

17 

Friend  or  relative 

3.2 

5.4 

1.7 

1.9 

25 

16  34 

334 

5 

Unspecified 

49.8 

32.4 

75.9 

48.9 

39134 

9934 

161 

131 

course,  refers  to  the  general  or  department  store  where  purchases  of 
almost  every  description  can  be  made  within  the  one  building  and 
with  the  aid  of  a single  clerk.  In  Dane  County  this  factor  appears  to 
be  most  important. 

Patronizing  the  “Home  Town”.  Many  campaigns  have  been  in 
evidence  recently  where  the  appeal  has  been  made  to  the  motive  of 
loyalty  to  the  local  or  home  town.  When  the  question  is  raised  as  to 
which  town  is  the  home  town  for  this  or  that  farmer,  the  problem  is 
not  so  simple  as  it  may  appear.  To  appeal  to  a farmer  to  be  loyal  to 
his  home  town  in  his  furniture  trading  for  example  when  the  town  does 
hot  possess  a furniture  store  is  certainly  rather  a tar  cry.  Two  con- 
clusions seem  evident  from  a study  of  the  trading,  social  and  church 
going  habit  of  the  817  families,  387  from  town  and  430  from  the 
country,  of  high  school  children  in  Dane  County  exclusive  of  those 

Table  XLL— Trade  Relations  of  Families  of  All  High  School  Children  in  Dane  County 


Kinds  of  Merchandise  and  Where  Families  Live  in  Per  Cent  and  in 
Number 


Place  of 
buying 

in  per  cent 

IN  NUMBER 

Groceries 

Furniture 

Clothing 

Groc 

series 

Furn 

iture 

Clotl 

ling 

In  town 

On  farm 

In  town 

On  farm 

a 

£ 

o 

el 

On  farm 

In  town 

On  farm 

In  town 

On  farm 

In  town 

On  farm 

Total 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

387 

430 

387 

430 

387 

430 

High  school  town 

87.1 

70.7 

70.0 

54.6 

57.1 

38.4 

337 

304 

271 

235 

221 

165 

Other  towns 

8.0 

17.7 

18.9 

31.4 

28.7 

43.7 

31 

76 

73 

135 

111 

188 

Divided  between 

school  town 

and  other 

towns 

3.9 

10.9 

5.9 

8.6 

12.7 

15.3 

15 

47 

23 

37 

49 

66 

Not  specified 

1.0 

.7 

5.2 

5.4 

1.5 

2.6 

4 

3 

20 

23 

6 

11 

Table  XLII. — Location  Preference  as  Between  Town  and  Country  of  Certain  Social  Institutions 


Service  Relations  of  Town  and  Country 


77 


78 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  58 


sending  children  to  the  Stoughton  school.  Table  XXX  already  re- 
ferred to  above  shows  the  distribution  of  the  church  and  social  activity  and 
Table  XLI,  the  trading  relation  of  the  town  and  country  families  with 
their  home  town.  The  first  conclusion  is  that  loyalty  campaigns  are 
needed  for  others  than  merely  the  farmers  of  the  community,  and 
second,  that  there  is  a varying  degree  to  which  the  town  can  hope  to 
command  trade  and  social  patronage  depending  upon  the  type  of  the 
service.  In  other  terms,  it  would  seem  that  the  town  must  specialize 
with  reference  to  the  kinds  of  service  which  it  can  perform  most 

efficiently  and  most  acceptably  and  not  expect  to  furnish  everything 

to  everybody  all  the  time.  “Groceries,”  “furniture”,  and  “clothing”,  is 
the  order  of  most  frequent  trading  in  the  local  town  and  the  farm 
families  are  not  far  behind  those  of  the  village  in  the  percentages  of 

their  purchases  and  activities  in  this  town.  Wives  of  the  town 

merchants  and  professional  men  are  frequently  seen  in  the  stores  of 
urban  center  buying  special  articles.  Wives  of  city  merchants  and 
prolessional  men  are  frequently  seen  on  the  trains  bound  for  metro- 
politan centers.  After  much  the  same  fashion  the  farmer’s  wife  dis- 
tributes her  “loyalties”  by  this  principle  of  specialized  service. 

If  the  Farmer  Had  His  Way.  Opinion  of  course,  is  subject  to 
change  but  if  the  services  of  a center  are  to  be  developed  it  is  often 
wise  to  know  the  disposition  and  wishes  of  the  people  to  be  served. 
In  answer  to  the  question  of  whether  they  preferred  their  social  in- 
stitutions located  in  town  or  country  the  787  families  reported  to  the 
field  workers  as  follows  : Church,  town  46  per  cent,  country  28  per  cent, 
consolidated  school,  town  19  per  cent,  country  52  per  cent ; high  school, 
town  59  per  cent,  country  18  per  cent ; social  club,  town  30  per  cent, 
country  29  per  cent;  store,  town  68  per  cent,  country  14  per  cent.  The 
100  per  cent  in  each  case  is  made  up  in  “no  preference”  or  “no  opinion” 
classification  as  are  detailed  in  Table  XLII.  When  asked  as  to  whether 
they  preferred  to  have  these  institutions  located  in  the  same  town  or 
distributed  among  several  towns,  the  answers  were  almost  unanimoush 
in  favor  of  centralization  at  the  same  center.  Still  another  question 
was  asked  in  regard  to  how  far  people  would  be  willing  to  go  to  such 
a town  center  provided  the  roads  were  normally  good.  A frequency 
curve  for  the  answers  shows  the  mode  falling  at  6 miles  for  Waupaca, 
and  Dane  Counties  while  in  Walworth  County  it  rises  to  9 miles. 
There  was  an  exceedingly  striking  correlation  between  the  higher  per- 
centages of  town  preference  and  the  ages  of  those  answering  the 
question  The  younger  people  with  few  exceptions  voted  for  the  town 
location.  The  inferences  from  these  expressions  should  be  plain — an 
expanding  opportunity  for  service  faces  the  local  town. 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Part  I. — The  Service  Organization  of  Town  and  Country 

— A Brief  of  Findings  and  Principles 1 

Town  and  country  interdependencies 3 

The  town  meets  an  opportunity  4 

Business  and  living  emphasis  for  agriculture  9 

Part  II. — The  Town  has  Its  Farmers — How  Important  is 

the  Farmer  in  the  Life  of  the  Town 15 

The  town,  an  aggregation  of  service  agencies 15 

The  commercial  agencies  22 

The  non-commercial  agencies  31 

The  town  as  a town  and  service  station 34 

Part  III. — The  Farmer  has  his  Town — What  Kind  of  a 

Town  Does  the  Farmer  Really  Want? 39 

The  economic  service  43 

The  communication  service  58 

The  educational  service  65 

The  religious  service  65 

The  social  service  66 

The  organization  service  68 

Competing  service  centers  70 

Developing  the  service  areas 74 


3 0*7 


Research  Bulletin  59 


May,  1924 


Anthracnose  of  Cane  Fruits  and  Its  Control 
on  Black  Raspberries  in  Wisconsin 


LEON  K.  JONES 


Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
of  the 

University  of  Wisconsin 
Madison 


Contents 


Page 

The  disease  • 1 

Description  1 

Economic  importance  2 

The  causal  organism  4 

Cultural  studies  ... 1 4 

Germination  studies  5 

Pathogenicity  6 

Life  history  7 

Seasonal  development  7 

Production  of  spores 7 

Source  of  inoculum  in  nature 8 

Control  Measures  9 

Sanitation  : 9 

Summary  24 

Literature  cited  25 


Anthracnose  of  Cane  Fruits  and  Its  Control 
on  Black  Raspberries  in  Wisconsin1 


A SURVEY  of  the  cane  fruit  industry  of  Wisconsin  by  the  writer 
(1920)  in  1919  showed  that  anthracnose  was  one  of  the  chief 
factors  responsible  for  the  drastic  decline  of  the  black  raspberry 
acreage  of  the  state  in  the  last  decade.  Consequently,  it  was  deemed 
advisable  to  make  a careful  study  of  this  disease,  with  special  reference 
to  control  measures.  Field  and  laboratory  experiments  were  conducted 
at  Madison,  Wisconsin,  in  the  period  of  1920-23. 

The  results  of  the  writer’s  studies  as  they  relate  to  history  and  geo- 
graphic distribution  of  the  disease,  pathological  histology,  taxonomy, 
and  morphology  confirm  those  reported  by  Burkholder  (1917).  Burk- 
holder’s account  of  these  subjects  is  so  satisfactory  that  it  appears  un- 
necessary to  treat  them  in  this  publication. 

THE  DISEASE 

In  the  United  States  the  disease  caused  by  the  fungus  Plectodiscella 
vencta  Burk,  ( Gleosporium  venetum  Speg.)  appears  to  be  widespread 
throughout  the  north  and  also  in  hilly  southern  regions,  coinciding  with  the 
ranges  of  its  hosts.  It  is  generally  distributed  on  the  following  hosts  in 
Wisconsin  as  shown  by  the  writer  (1920)  : red  raspberry  ( Rubus  idaeus 
var.  aculeatissimus  (Mey.)  Regel  and  Tiling),  black  raspberry  ( Rubus 
occidcntalis  L.),  purple-cane  raspberry  ( Rubus  neglectus  Peck),  and  black- 
berry ( Rubus  sp.).  The  relationships  of  the  pathogens  causing 
anthracnose  on  the  above  named  hosts  have  not  been  definitely  determined 
by  cross  inoculations,  except  as  reported  by  Burkholder  (1917)  that  the 
organism  isolated  from  purple-cane  raspberry  through  inoculations  pro- 
duced infection  on  black  and  red  raspberry. 

Description 

The  symptoms  manifested  on  the  various  hosts  of  P.  veneta  are  some- 
what similar,  although  they  vary  in  the  color,  shape  and  size  of  the  lesions 
produced,  depending  on  the  host  and  the  severity  of  the  attack.  Canes, 
leaves,  petioles,  peduncles,  pedicels  and  fruits  may  be  attacked,  although 
the  symptoms  on  the  canes  are  usually  the  most  noticeable.  Descriptions 
here  given  refer  to  symptoms  on  Cumberland  black  raspberry  unless 
otherwise  noted. 

On  canes.  Elliptical  to  circular  greenish-brown  lesions  one-half  to 
one  millimeter  in  diameter  usually  appear  on  the  young  shoots  in  early 
spring  when  the  latter  are  eight  to  ten  inches  high.  These  lesions  are 
slightly  sunken,  with  a stromatic  development  of  the  fungus  in  the 
center,  which  is  somewhat  darker  and  raised.  Under  binoculars  the 

1 The  writer  wishes  to  express  his  indebtedness  to  Dr.  G.  W.  Keitt,  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin,  under  whose  direction  the  work  was  performed. 


2 


Research  Bulletin  59 


affected  tissue  has  a slightly  water-soaked  appearance.  The  lesions 
enlarge  slowly  and  the  centers  become  a pale  buff  to  white,  while  the 
advancing  margin  is  raised  and  reddish-brown  to  purple  in  color.  Mature 
lesions  (Plate  I)  are  circular  to  oval  and  seldom  become  more  than  one 
centimeter  in  diameter,  although  they  often  become  confluent,  making 
large  irregular  patches  that  may  encircle  the  cane.  In  cases  of  severe 
attack,  the  canes  may  crack  longitudinally  (Plate  I,  B).  These  cracks, 
usually  small,  may  split  the  cane  to  the  pith  for  a distance  of  two  to 
three  inches.  The  lateral  branches  often  become  seriously  infected. 
The  resultant  lesions  are  similar  to  those  on  the  canes,  but  smaller, 
and  often  cause  the  death  of  the  young  branches. 

On  leaves.  The  first  spotting  of  leaves  in  the  spring  appears  about  the 
same  time  as  that  on  the  canes,  although  not  so  abundantly.  The 
lesions  first  appear  as  yellow  or  straw-colored  oval  to  irregular  spots 
one-half  to  one  millimeter  in  diameter.  The  center  of  the  lesion  is 
raised  and  brownish,  while  under  binoculars  the  veins  of  the  leaf  at 
the  outer  edge  of  the  lesion  are  slightly  purple.  The  mature  lesions 
are  one  to  two  millimeters  in  diameter  with  light  colored  centers  and 
purple  margins.  These  spots  may  drop  out,  giving  the  leaf  a ragged  or 
“shot-hole”  appearance.  In  cases  of  severe  infection  of  red  raspberries, 
the  leaves  may  turn  yellow  and  drop.  On  the  leaves  the  symptoms  of 
this  disease  are  often  confused  with  those  of  common  leaf  spot 
( Mycosphaerella  rubi  Roark).  The  Mycosphaerella  leaf  spot  lesions  differ 
from  those  of  anthracnose  in  being  irregular  in  outline  and  somewhat 
larger,  with  minute  black  pycnidia  usually  present. 

On  petioles,  peduncles  and  pedicels.  Anthacnose  has  been  found 
commonly  on  these  plant  parts.  The  lesions  produced  are  similar  to 
those  on  the  canes,  although  smaller  and  often  without  the  purple 
margin.  On  the  peduncles  and  pedicels  especially,  they  may  coalesce 
into  white  scab-like  patches  (Plate  II)  that  cause  these  parts  to  become 
brittle.  These  white  patches  often  retard  growth  on  one  side  of  the 
attacked  part,  causing  it  to  curl  and  crack. 

On  fruit.  Infection  occurs  less  frequently  on  the  fruit  than  on  the 
other  parts  of  the  host.  On  one  occasion  the  writer  observed  fruit  in- 
fection on  the  variety  Plum  Farmer  in  Wisconsin.  One  or  several 
drupelets  become  brown  and  sunken.  Frequently  the  whole  fruit  be- 
comes brown,  dry  and  woody,  while  the  healthy  berries  are  still  green. 

Economic  Importance 

Anthracnose  is  one  of  the  most  serious  diseases  of  black  raspberry 
and  blackberry,  although  it  seldom  causes  much  injury  to  red  rasp- 
berry. Burrill  (1882)  cites  an  instance  of  a plantation  that  had  yielded 
a profit  of  $400.00  per  acre,  on  which  one  attack  of  this  disease  re- 
duced the  proceeds  so  that  expenses  were  not  met.  Scribner  (1888) 
estimates  the  losses  in  southern  Missouri  due  to  anthracnose  on  black 
raspberries  at  10  to  12  per  cent.  Burkholder  (1917)  states  that  in 
certain  localities  in  New  York  state  growers  have  been  obliged  to 
discontinue  berry  growing  due  to  anthracnose,  and  that  it  is  evident 


Anthracnose  of  Cane  Fruits 


3 


that  ahthracnose  is  correlated  with  reduction  of  yields.  Anderson 
(1920)  states  that  “Anthracnose  has  entirely  eliminated  the  growing  of 
raspberries  in  some  sections  of  Illinois,  and  many  growers  are  com- 
pelled to  renew  their  patches  after  two  /ears  of  bearing.”  He  also 
estimates  that  in  Illinois  in  1908  the  loss  from  anthracnose  was  50  per 
cent  of  the  crop,  and  that  25  per  cent  of  the  berry  crop  is  lost  there 
annually  because  of  this  disease.  In  a survey  of  Wisconsin  the  writer 
(1920)  found  that  anthyacnose  was  one  of  the  most  important  diseases 
of  cane  fruits,  and  was  found  wherever  raspberries  were  grown,  al- 
though it  was  of  very  little  importance  on  blackberries  and  purple-cane 
raspberries.  Red  raspberries  usually  show  a light  spotting  of  the 
canes  but  the  writer  has  not  noted  important  anthracnose  injury  on 
red  varieties  in  Wisconsin  except  in  the  vicinity  of  Eau  Claire.  In  this 
district  in  1919  there  was  considerable  spotting  of  the  leaves,  which 
caused  yellowing  and  dropping  of  the  foliage.  The  disease  is  most 
important  in  the  state  on  black  raspberries  and,  in  association  with 
crown  gall  injury,  it  is  a limiting  factor  in  the  black  raspberry  industry. 

The  disease  affects  the  canes  and  leaves  in  the  first  season  of  growth, 
thereby  weakening  the  plant  and  causing  a decrease  in  fruit  yield  the 
ensuing  year.  The  diseased  canes  are  also  more  subject  to  winter 
injury  than  healthy  ones.  A very  important  injury  in  Wisconsin  is 
caused  by  the  lesions  on  peduncles  and  pedicels.  Abundant  infection 
on  these  host  parts  causes  the  fruit  to  be  small  or  to  dry  up  before 
maturity  (Plate  II). 

In  order  to  obtain  data  on  the  decrease  in  fruit  yield  due  to  anthrac- 
nose the  writer  made  counts  and  weighed  the  .fruit  harvested  from 
sprayed  and  unsprayed  plots  of  Cumberland  raspberries  in  1921.  The 
sprayed  plot,  consisting  of  24  plants,  had  received  two  applications  of 
lime-sulfur  with  gelatin  as  a spreader,  as  outlined  on  later  pages.  The 
disease  had  been  very  satisfactorily  controlled  on  this  plot  the  previous 
season,  while  the  unsprayed  plot,  consisting  of  12  plants  in  the  same 
planting,  had  never  received  any  spray  treatment  and  the  plants  were 
abundantly  infected  with  the  disease.  A summary  of  the  data  obtained 
is  presented  in  Table  I. 


Table  I. — Comparison  of  Fruit  Yields  of  Sprayed  and  Unsprayed  Cumber- 
land Raspberry  Plants,  H.  Fischer  Planting,  Madison,  Wis.,  1921 


Plot 

No. 

Treatment11 

Average  number 
of  beriies 

Average  weight  of 
berries  per  plant 

Per  plant 

Per  pint 

No. 

No. 

Pound ' 

1 

Unsprayed 

143 

227 

0.42 

3 

L-S.  -{-gelatin,  1,  2 

217 

239 

0.62 

aL  — S=liquid  lime-sulfur  (1)  delayed-dormant  spray,  1-10,  (2)  second  ap- 
plication of  spray  about  one  week  before  blooming,  1-40.  One-half  pound  of 
gelatin  was  added  to  each  100  gallons  of  spray. 


These  data  show  that  the  sprayed  plants  on  which  the  disease  had 
been  controlled  satisfactorily  for  two  consecutive  years  produced  about 


4 


Research  Bulletin  59 


32  per  cent  more  fruit  by  weight  than  abundantly  infected  plants  that 
had  never  received  any  treatment  for  the  control  of  the  disease.  The 
loss  caused  by  the  disease  was  very  noticeable  during  the  season  of 
1921,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  disease  was  very  severe  and  was  followed 
by  a long  dry  period  prior  to  and  during  harvest.  The  average  number 
of  berries  per  pint  was  slightly  higher  on  the  sprayed  plants  than  on 
the  unsprayed  since  the  smaller  berries  of  the  latter  part  of  the  season 
on  the  unsprayed  plants  dried  up  and  were  not  harvested,  while  all  the 
small  ones  ripened  on  the  sprayed  plants.  For  a comparison  of  the 
control  of  the  disease  obtained  with  various  treatments  during  the 
season  of  1921  see  Table  VI.  Photographs  taken  at  the  time  of  harvest 
in  1921  show  the  condition  of  fruiting  branches  which  had  been  sprayed 
as  compared  with  that  of  unsprayed  fruiting  branches  seriously  injured 
by  anthracnose  (Plate'VIII). 

THE  CAUSAL  ORGANISM 
Cultural  Studies 

Considerable  difficulty  has  been  experienced  by  investigators  in  ob- 
taining pure  cultures  of  the  anthracnose  organism.  Stoneman  (1898) 
states  that  the  fungus  “....does  not  adapt  itself  readily  to  artificial  cul- 
ture.” The  growth  of  the  organism  is  so  slow  that  contamination  is 
likely  to  occur,  but  it  is  possible  to  obtain  pure  cultures  by  placing  frag- 
ments of  diseased  tissue  in  poured  agar  plates.  The  exterior  of  the 
tissue  from  which  the  isolation  is  to  be  made  is  best  sterilized  by  being 
dipped  into  100  per  cent  alcohol  and  flamed.  Fragments  of  tissue  may 
then  be  removed  from  below  the  surface  with  a sterilized  scalpel.  On 
a 15  per  cent  dextrose-potato  agar  a straw-colored  growth  may  be 
detected  with  a hand  lens  at  the  side  of  the  fragment  of  tissues  in 
five  to  seven  days  and  may  be  transferred  to  an  agar  slant.  The  easiest 
method  of  isolation,  however,  is  to  place  on  the  inside  of  the  lid  of  a 
Petri  dish  fragments  of  a cane  lesion  bearing  ascocarps.  At  Madison, 
Wisconsin,  it  has  been  possible  to  obtain  mature  ascocarps  in  the  field  from 
early  March  through  June.  If  the  cane  tissue  is  moistened  with  water 
the  spores  are  shot  onto  the  agar  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Petri  dish. 
Germination  of  single  ascospores  may  be  watched  and  the  resultant 
growth  transferred  to  an  agar  slant  in  a test  tube  by  the  method 
described  by  Keitt  (1915). 

The  growth  after  14  days  on  a 15  per  cent  dextrose-potato  agar  is 
light  russet-vinaceous  to  maroon,  with  a reddish  discoloration  of  the 
medium.  There  is  very  little  aerial  mycelium  produced  in  the  young 
cultures.  The  colonies  are  formed  by  a piling  up  of  cells  that  have  a 
glistening  appearance.  As  the  cultures  become  older,  however,  fine 
aerial  hyphae  are  formed  over  the  compact  growth.  In  cultures  that 
are  a month  old  these  hyphae  give  a white,  downy  appearance  to  the 
maroon  mass  of  cells  underneath.  Conidia  are  seldom  produced  in 
culture.  However,  a sudden  increase  in  humidity  usually  stimulates 
their  production. 

The  writer  has  been  able  to  produce  conidia  by  transferring  culture 
fragments  from  dextrose-potato  agar  to  the  side  of  sterile  sweet 


Anthracnose  of  Cane  Fruits 


clover  stems  in  tubes,  the  stems  resting  on  a small  amount  of  absorbent 
cotton  and  in  an  abundance  of  water.  After  three 
days  this  culture  may  be  removed  to  a tube  of 
sterile  distilled  water,  in  which  the  conidia  drop 
off  readily.  In  order  to  obtain  an  abundance  of 
conidia  for  inoculation  work  it  was  found  ad- 
visable to  pour  a spore  suspension  on  poured 
agar  plates.  After  ten  days  large  pieces  of  agar 
bearing  the  fungus  may  be  transferred  to  a sterile 
glass  slide  in  a sterile  moist  chamber,  consisting 
of  a Petri  dish  lined  with  moistened  filter  paper. 
After  three  days  the  cultures  may  be  removed  to 
sterile  distilled  water  and  the  conidia  shaken  from 
the  fungal  growth. 


lucida  drawing  of 
germinating  coni- 
dia of  P.  veneta 
after  16  hours  in 
sterile  distilled 
water  at  24°  C. 


A study  has  been  made  of  the  relation  of 
temperature  to  the  growth  of  the  organism  on 
dextrose-potato  agar.  The  most  rapid  growth 
was  obtained  at  22°  to  26°  C.  while  no  growth  occurred  at  10°  or  at 
32°  C.  Plate  III,  A shows  the  growth  that  was  made  in  seven  days  at 
constant  temperatures  ranging  from  11°  to  32°  C.  The  platings  were 
made  from  a suspension  of  conidia  in  water,  one  loop  of  the  sus- 
pension being  removed  to  the  center  of  each  Petri  dish,  into  which 
a 5 per  cent  dextrose-potato  agar  had  been  poured. 

Germination  Studies 

Conidia  germinate  readily  in  sterile  distilled  water  or  on  dextrose- 
potato  agar  or  “water  agar”  (2  per  cent  agar 
in  water).  In  sterile  distilled  water  on  slides 
in  moist  chambers  at  24°  C.  the  conidia  be- 
come twice  their  original  size  in  12  to  24  hours 
and  a few  may  become  one-septate,  or  produce 
short  germ  tubes  (Fig.  1).  During  the  next 
24  hours  elongation  occurs  and  three  or  four 
septa  and  possibly  a small  amount  of  branching 
may  be  observed.  Conidia  are  budded  off  from 
any  of  the  cells,  most  abundantly,  however, 
from  those  at  the  ends  (Fig.  2).  Further 
growth  takes  place  with  profuse  branching  and 
piling  up  of  cells,  forming  a stromatic  mass 
about  50  microns  in  diameter  after  96  hours. 

From  this  mass  of  cells  filaments  radiate  for  25 
to  50  microns.  There  is  seldom  any  further 
growth  in  sterile  water.  The  germination  on 
dextrose-potato  agar  is  somewhat  similar  ex- 
cept that  true  germ  tubes  and  conidia  are  produced  after  44  hours 
seldom  produced  and  that  there  is  a greater  in  sterile  distilled  water 
tendency  towards  the  massing  of  cells.  After  at  24  C.  and  the  pro- 
96  hours  at  24°  C.  the  colonies  on  this  medium  duction  of  secondary 
have  an  average  diameter  of  about  200  microns,  conidia. 


drawing  of  germinated 
conidia  of  P.  veneta 
showing  the  growth 


6 


Research  Bulletin  59 


Experiments  on  conidial  germination  have  been  conducted  at  cpn- 
trolled  temperatures  in  sterile  distilled  water  and  on  dextrose-potato 
agar  and  “water  agar.”  Six  series  have  been  run  on  dextrose-potato 
agar,  five  series  in  sterile  distilled  water,  and  two  series  on  “water 
agar,”  at  the  following  temperatures:  4,  8,  11,  15,  17,  19,  22,  24,  26,  30, 
32,  and  34°  C.  No  germination  has  been  observed  on  any  medium  at 
temperatures  below  11°  C.  and  only  slow  germination  with  slight  growth 
at  15°  C.  The  optimum  for  germination  and  growth  was  found  to  lie 
between  22°  and  26°  C.  Germination  takes  place  readily  at  30°  while 
no  germination  has  been  observed  at  either  32°  or  34°  C. 

The  ascospores  germinate  readily  in  sterile  distilled  water  and  on 
dextrose-potato  agar.  In  sterile  water  the  spore  becomes  slightly 
swollen  and  from  five  to  seven  conidia  are  usually  budded  off  within 
16  hours.  These  conidia  have  not  been  observed  to  germinate  in 
sterile  water.  On  dextrose-potato  agar  the  five  to  seven  conidia  are 

budded  off  and  produce  germ  tubes  20  to  30  microns  long  within  24  hours 
(Fig.  3).  Within  72  hours  the  germ  tubes  become  branched  and  pro- 
duce masses  of  cells,  making  a colony  about 
50  microns  in  diameter  with  numerous 
strands  of  branching  mycelium  growing  for 
a distance  of  about  35  microns  from  the 
outer  edge  of  the  stromatic  mass. 

Modes  of  germination  of  the  spores  of 
this  organism  are  very  variable,  depending 
on  such  factors  as  temperature  and  media. 
The  writer  projects  making  this  problem  the 
subject  of  a future  publication. 

Pathogenicity 

Lawrence  (1910)  inoculated  fruit  of 
blackberries  with  conidia  from  leaves  and 
canes  and  reports  obtaining  typical  lesions 
after  an  incubation  period  of  15  to  48 
hours.  Burkholder  (1917)  inoculated  young 
shoots  with  a water  suspension  of  conidia 
from  lesions  on  canes  and  from  pure 
cultures.  He  obtained  infection  in  18  out 
of  56  inoculation  trials,  with  an  inoculation 
period  of  three  to  seven  days. 

experiments  on  Cumberland  raspberry  plants 
The  apical  foot  of  each  young  cane  was 
placed  in  a bag  made  of  partially  water-proofed,  translucent  “glassine” 
paper  for  seven  days  immediately  preceding  the  inoculation,  in  order  to 
preclude  possibility  of  natural  infection.  At  the  time  of  inoculation  the 
bags  were  removed  and  the  young  canes  atomized  with  sterile  distilled 
water  (controls)  or  a water  suspension  of  conidia  from  pure  cultures  of 
a single  ascospore  isolation  from  a black  raspberry  cane  lesion.  The 


drawing  of  germinating 
ascospores  of  P.  veneta 
showing  production  and 
germination  of  secondary 
conidia. 

The  writer  made  inoculation 
at  Sturgeon  Bay,  Wisconsin. 


Anthracnose  of  Cane.  Fruits 


7 

bags  were  replaced  and  the  canes  were  kept  moist  by  hanging  inside 
of  the  bags  Erlenmeyer  flasks  of  water  from  which  cheese  cloth  wicks 
were  wound  around  the  canes.  The  bags  and  wicks  were  removed  five 
days  after  the  inoculations  were  made,  at  which  time  no  disease  was 
apparent  on  the  young  bagged  parts.  Observations  were  made  every  day 
after  the  wicks  were  removed  and  the  number  of  resultant  lesions  re- 
corded. The  results  of  these  inoculations  (Table  II)  show  an  incuba- 
tion period  of  six  to  nine  days. 


Table  II. — Results  of  Inoculations  made  with  P.  veneta  on  Cumberland 
Raspberry  Canes  at  Sturgeon  Ray,  Wis.,  June  6,  1921 


Inocu- 

lation 

No. 

Inoculum 

Number  of  lesions  o 
stated  date 

bserved  o 

is 

n 

June  12 

June  13 

June  14 

June  15 

June  16 

1A 

Control 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

IB 

Spore  suspension 

0 

8 

8 

8 

8 

2 

Spore  suspension 

0 

0 

8 

16 

16 

3 

Control 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

4 

Spore  suspension 

12 

17 

17 

17 

17 

5 

Spore  suspension 

0 

2 

2 

2 

2 

6 

Control 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Black  and  red  raspberry  plants  have  been  grown  in  the  greenhouse 
in  early  spring  and  attempts  to  inoculate  them  have  met  with  little 
success.  Eight  series  of  such  inoculations  have  been  made  with  coni- 
dial  suspensions  from  cultures  obtained  through  single  ascospore  iso- 
lations. Only  one  of  these  series  gave  positive  results.  Life  history 
studies  made  during  the  seasons  of  1921  and  1922  indicate  that  only 
the  young  growing  canes  are  susceptible  to  the  disease  (Tables  V and 
VII).  The  plants  which  were  grown  in  the  greenhouse  during  winter 
and  early  spring  did  not  produce  a succulent  type  of  growth,  which 
probably  accounts  for  the  lack  of  positive  results  from  inoculation  ex- 
periments with  these  plants. 

LIFE  HISTORY 
Seasonal  Development  of  Disease 

The  disease  first  appears  on  the  young  growing  canes  and  leaves 
in  early  spring,  usually  when  the  canes  are  eight  to  ten  inches  high. 
At  Madison,  Wisconsin,  the  first  lesions  have  been  observed  on  the 
following  dates  during  the  four  years  of  observation:  May  20,  1919; 
May  13,  1920;  May  15,  1921;  and  May  20,  1922.  The  lesions  on  the 
canes,  leaves,  laterals  and  fruiting  branches  continue  to  increase  in 
number  on  the  young  growing  tissue  throughout  early  summer.  There 
appears  to  be  little  or  no  increase  in  disease  after  the  middle  of  July 
as  is  shown  in  data  obtained  during  the  seasons  of  1921  and  1922  (Plates 
V and  VI). 

Production  of  Spores 

The  immature  ascocarps  are  first  observed  during  the  latter  part  of 
August.  Some  of  the  ascocarps  are  mature  at  Madison,  Wisconsin,  as 


8 


Research  Bulletin  59 


early  as  March  1,  as  the  writer  has  been  able  to  cause  the  discharge 
of  mature  ascospores  from  freshly  collected  cane  lesions  at  this  time  of 
the  year.  The  asci  and  ascospores,  however,  continue  to  mature  through 
the  spring  and  early  summer.  Conidia  are  produced  during  the  spring 
on  the  old  cane  lesions  and  abundant  production  of  conidia  follows  the 
development  of  lesions  on  the  new  growth  during  spring  and  summer. 
On  the  fruiting  canes  the  fungus  probably  dies  after  the  production  of 
conidia  in  the  spring,  as  the  writer  has  been  unable  to  obtain  conidia 
or  make  cultures  from  the  lesions  on  these  canes  through  the  summer. 

Source  of  Inoculum  in  Nature 

The  primary  sources  of  natural  inoculum  are  the  ascospores,  which 
are  ejected  forcibly  from  the  asci,  and  the  conidia  from  the  overwintered 
lesions  on  the  canes.  The  ascospores  continue  to  be  a source  of 
inoculum  through  the  spring  and  early  summer.  Burkholder  (1917) 
reports  that  the  ascocarps  are  very  rare  and  probably  do  not  play  an 
important  part  in  the  dissemination  of  the  disease.  The  writer  has, 
however,  observed  an  abundance  of  ascocarps  (Plate  III,  B)  on  black 
and  red  raspberries  in  Wisconsin  and  considers  the  ascigerous  stage 
an  important  factor  in  the  overwintering  of  the  disease  and  its 
spread  in  the  spring  under  Wisconsin  climatic  conditions.  The  conidia 
produced  in  the  lesions  (Plate  III,  C)  on  the  current  year’s  growth  form 
the  source  of  secondary  infection  through  the  spring  and  summer. 

Experiments  have  been  conducted  at  Packwaukee,  Wisconsin,  in  order 
to  obtain  more  definite  information  relative  to  the  spread  of  the  dis- 
ease. Three  rows,  each  250  feet  long,  of  Cumberland  raspberry  plants 
were  set  out  April  15,  1920.  The  rows  were  12  feet  apart  and  the  plants 
were  spaced  five  feet  apart  in  the  rows.  The  planting  was  one-half 
mile  from  any  other  raspberry  planting,  on  land  where  grain  had  been 
grown  for  15  years.  A careful  survey  of  the  surrounding  country  showed 
no  wild  hosts  of  the  disease  within  one-half  mile  of  the  new  planting. 
These  plants  were  obtained  from  layered  tips  that  were  removed  from 
the  vicinity  of  the  old  plants  one  month  before  the  appearance  of  the 
disease  in  the  spring,  and  before  the  new  shoots  had  appeared  above 
the  ground.  Care  was  taken  to  remove  all  of  the  old  cane  stubs  from 
the  new  plants,  in  order  to  avoid  carrying  any  source  of  inoculum  to 
the  new  planting.  All  of  the  soil  was  removed  from  the  young  plants 
by  washing,  after  which  they  were  dipped  into  mercuric  chloride  solu- 
tion, 1-1000,  and  then  rinsed  before  they  were  planted.  On  April  14, 
1921,  one  year  after  the  planting  was  made,  these  plants  were  entirely 
free  from  anthracnose  lesions. 

Observations  made  April  13,  1922,  two  years  after  the  planting  was 
made,  showed  an  abundance  of  disease  on  these  plants.  Of  the  125 
plants  that  were  living,  99  were  diseased,  13  of  them  being  severely  in- 
fected. The  remaining  26  plants,  which  were  not  infected  with  anthrac- 
nose, were  scattered  among  the  diseased  ones. 

The  ascigerous  stage  of  the  fungus  had  been  found  abundantly  on 
the  diseased  canes  in  the  old  planting,  one-half  mile  from  the  ex- 


Anthracnose  of  Cane  Fruits 


9 


perimental  planting.  Ascospores  carried  by  winds  that  blew  over  the 
old  planting  toward  the  new  one  were  probably  the  source  of  infection 
for  the  new  planting. 

Conidia  are  chiefly  water  borne,  as  emphasized  by  Burkholder  (1917). 
The  writer  has  endeavored  to  blow  the  conidia  free  from  the  coni- 
diophores  with  air  from  an  aspirator,  but  with  little  success.  However, 
the  conidia  drop  off  readily  when  the  stromatic  mass  is  placed  in  water. 
Consequently,  when  the  fungus  mass  was  atomized  with  water  an 
abundance  of  spores  was  washed  off. 

CONTROL  MEASURES 
Sanitation 

Most  writers  have  emphasized  the  importance  of  keeping  the  planta- 
tion free  from  badly  diseased  canes.  Longyear  (1904),  Jackson  (1913), 
Cook  (1918)  and  Swartwout  (1921)  recommend  cutting  out  all  old  canes 
and  the  most  severely  diseased  new  ones  soon  after  harvest.  This 
is  a good  cultural  practice  but  it  is  of  little  value  in  checking  the  dis- 
ease during  the  current  season,  since  the  writer’s  observations  show 
that  little  or  no  infection  takes  place  after  harvest.  When  thinning  out 
the  canes  in  the  spring,  it  is  advisable  to  prune  out  the  more  severely 
diseased  ones,  thereby  reducing  the  source  of  early  inoculum. 

Good  cultural  practices  during  the  growing  season  are  advisable  in 
order  to  remove  weeds  from  the  rows.  Weeds  and  compact  growth 
of  canes  interfere  with  air  drainage,  and  facilitate  the  collection  of  mois- 
ture, which  is  favorable  to  the  spread  of  the  disease. 

Six  to  twelve  inches  of  the  old  canes  are  left  on  black  raspberry 
nursery  stock  by  nurserymen  to  facilitate  handling.  The  disease  is  often 
abundant  on  these  old  cane  stubs,  and  is  therefore  disseminated  to  the 
new  plantings.  Before  nursery  stock  is  planted  these  old  canes  should 
be  carefully  removed.  Young  plants  obtained  from  the  vicinity  of  old 
plants  in  the  spring  should  be  removed  to  the  new  planting  before  they 
are  four  to  six  inches  high,  since  infection  of  the  young  plants  usually 
occurs  soon  after  they  have  attained  this  much  growth. 

There  is  little  possibility  that  the  fungus  lives  over  on  fragments  of 
plants  on  the  ground.  Observations  by  Burkholder  (1917)  and  by  the 
writer  show  that  on  the  old  fruiting  canes  the  organism  probably  dies 
after  the  conidia  have  been  produced  in  the  spring.  Therefore,  it 
would  appear  that  new  plantings  wodld  not  necessarily  have  to  be 
made  on  land  formerly  free  from  the  disease.  However,  it  would  be 
advisable  to  make  plantings  on  new  soil,  because  of  the  prevalence  of 
the  crown  gall  organism  in  soil  previously  used  for  cane  fruit  culture. 

Spraying 

Spraying  for  the  control  of  anthracnose  has  been  recommended  by 
many  writers,  but  most  of  the  numerous  attempts  to  control  the  dis- 
ease in  this  manner  have  given  questionable  or  conflicting  results. 


10 


Research  Bulletin  59 


Burkholder  (1917)  reviews  the  earlier  literature  on  spraying  and  re- 
ports that  a dormant  application  of  lime-sulfur,  1-8,  proved  to  be  of  no 
benefit  in  the  control  of  raspberry  anthracnose.  After  considerable 
experimental  work  he  states  that : “More  data  relating  to  the  effect 
of  diseased  canes  on  the  yield  of  fruit  are  needed,  and  until  they  are 
obtained  no  conclusive  proofs  can  be  furnished  that  spraying  to  combat 
the  anthracnose  of  raspberry  is  a profitable  practice.” 

Dutton  (1918)  reports  control  of  the  disease  from  three  applications 
of  lime-sulfur  before  the  blooming  period,  and  further  reports  that  in 
1915  one  dormant  spray  of  lime-sulfur,  1-20,  gave  good  control. 

There  is  considerable  controversy  as  to  the  possibility  of  spray  injury 
from  the  use  of  lime-sulfur  and  Bordeaux  mixture.  Most  writers 
agree  that  raspberry  plants  are  very  susceptible  to  spray  injury.  With- 
out doubt,  a considerable  portion  of  the  difference  in  the  amount  of 
injury  reported  as  occurring  in  spraying  experiments  has  been  due  to  the 
fact  that  in  their  reports  most  workers  have  not  differentiated  between  red 
raspberries,  black  raspberries,  purple-cane  raspberries  and  blackberries. 
There  is  certainly  a difference  in  susceptibility  to  spray  injury  among 
these  different  kinds  of  cane  fruits. 

Goff  (1891)  experimented  with  ammoniacal  copper  carbonate,  and 
with  mixtures  of  ammoniacal  copper  carbonate  and  copper  sulfate. 
These  had  an  injurious  effect  on  the  foliage  of  Cuthbert,  Tyler  and 
Gregg  varieties,  and  Bordeaux  mixture,  4-6-50,  caused  great  injury  to 
the  foliage.  He  concludes  that  the  foliage  of  the  raspberry  is  very 
delicate  and  can  not  endure  applications  of  a corrosive  nature,  and  that  the 
foliage  of  the  blackberry,  though  more  resistant  than  that  of  the  rasp- 
berry, is  more  susceptible  to  injury  than  that  of  the  apple.* 

On  black  raspberries  the  foliage  of  old  canes  and  fruiting  branches  is 
more  susceptible  to  injury  than  that  of  young  shoots,  and  injury  is  likely 
to  occur  in  case  either  Bordeaux  mixture  or  lime-sulfur  is  applied  to  the 
plants  in  hot,  dry  weather.  From  observations  made  in  Wisconsin, 
foliage  injury  is  to  be  expected  if  lime-sulfur  or  Bordeaux  mixture  is  ap- 
plied  to  the  plants  after  blooming.  The  writer  has  not  observed  injury  to 
black  raspberry  plants  from  summer  strength  of  Bordeaux  mixture  or 
lime-sulfur  applications  before  the  blooming  period  of  the  plants.  The 
dormant  strength  of  these  sprays,  applied  to  the  plants  after  the  leaf  buds 
on  the  old  canes  had  opened  in  the  early  spring  and  only  a few  leaves 
had  unfolded  (Plate  IV,  A),  occasioned  no  material  injury  to  the  plants 
in  the  experiments  conducted  by  the  writer. 

In  view  of  the  conflicting  evidence  that  has  been  presented  regarding 
the  effectiveness  of  spraying  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  carry  on  com- 
prehensive spraying  trials.  Preliminary  reports  of  the  results  of  these 
investigations  have  been  made  by  the  writer  (1922  and  1923).  A sum- 
mary of  experimental  treatments  during  the  seasons  of  1920,  1921  and 
1922  appears  in  Table  III. 


Anthracnose  of  Cane  Fruits 


11 


Table  III. — Summary  of  the  Treatment  of  Experimental  Plots  of  Cumberland  Rasp- 
berry for  the  Control  of  Anthracnose,  H.  Fischer  Planting,  Madison,  Wis. 


Plot 

No. 

No. 

plants 

treated 

Treati 

nent  of  plots  in  stated  yearsa 

1920 

1921 

1922 

1 

12 

Unsprayed 

Unsprayed 

Unsprayed 

2 

24 

L-S.  + glue,  1,  2, 

L-S.  + glue,  1,  2 

L-S.  + glue,  1,  2 

3 

24 

L-S.+gelatin,  1,  2 

L-S.  + gelatin,  1,  2 

L-S.  + gelatin,  1,  2 

4 

24 

L-S.-j- gelatin,  1 

L-S.  + gelatin,  1 

L-S.+gelatin,  1 

5 

18 

L-S. -j-glue,  1 

L-S.+glue,  1 

L-S.+glue,  1 

5A 

6 

L-S. -j-glue,  1 

L-S.  + glue,  1 

Unsprayed 

6 

24 

I^S.,  1 

L-S.,  1 

L-S.,  1 

6A 

24 

L-S.,  1 

L-S.,  1,  2 

L-S.,  1,  2 

7 

24 

B.M.-fcal-cas.,  1 

B.M.  + cal-cas.,  1 

B.M.  + cal-cas.,  1 

8 

12 

B.M.  + cal-cas.,  1,  2 

B.M.  + cal-cas.,  1,  2 

B.M.  + cal-cas.,  1,  2 

9 

12 

B.M. -(-milk,  1 

B.M.  + milk,  1 

B.M.  + milk,  1 

9A 

12 

B.M.-|-milk,  1 

B.M.  + milk,  1,  2 

B.M.  + milk,  1,  2 

10 

12 

B.M. -(-gelatin,  1 

B.M.  + gelatin,  1 

B.M.+gelatin,  1 

11 

12 

B.M. -(-gelatin,  1,  2 

B.M.+gelatin,  1,  2 

B.M.  + gelatin,  1,  2 

12 

24 

B.M. -j-glue,  1 

B.M. -j-glue,  1 

B.M.  + glue,  1 

13 

24 

B.M.  + glue,  1,  2 

B.M.+glue,  1,  2 

B.M.+glue,  1,  2 

14 

12 

B.M.,  1 

B.M.,  1 

B.M.,  1 

14A 

12 

B.M.,  1 

B.M.,  1,  2 

B.M.,  1,  2 

15 

20 

I^S.,  1,  2 

L-S.,  1,  2 

15A 

20 

L-S.,  1 

L-S.,  1 

16 

24 

L-S.  + glue,  1,  2 

L-S.+glue,  1,  2 

16A 

24 

L^S. -j-glue,  1 

L-S.  + glue,  1 

17 

18 

L-S.+gelatin,  1,  2 

L-S.  + gelatin,  1,  2 

17A 

24 

L-S.+gelatin,  1 

L-S.+gelatin,  1 

17B 

6 

L-S.+gelatin,  1,  2 

Unsprayed 

18 

24 

L-S.+saponin,  1,  2 

L-S.+saponin,  1,  2 

18A 

12 

L-S.+saponin,  1 

L-S.+saponin,  1 

18B 

12 

L-S.+saponin,  2 

L-S.+saponin,  2 

19 

24 

L-S.  + gelatin,  2 

L-S.  + gelatin,  2 

20 

24 

B.M.  + gelatin,  2 

B.M.  + gelatin,  2 

21 

12 

B.M.,  1,  2 

B.M.,  1,  2* 

21A 

12 

B.M.,  1 

B.M.,  1 

22 

12 

B.M.  + glue,  1,  2 

B.M.+glue,  1,  2 

22A 

12 

B.M.  + glue,  1 

B.M.  + glue,  1 

23 

12 



B.M.+gelatin,  1,  2 

B.M.  + gelatin,  1,  2 

23A 

12 



B.M.+gelatin,  1 

B.M.  + gelatin,  1 

24 

12 



B.M.  + cal-cas.,  1,  2 

B.M.  + cal-cas.,  1,  2 

24A 

12 

B.M.  + cal-cas.,  1 

B.M.+cal-cas.,  1 

25 

8 

Scalecide,  1;  B.M.+gela- 

L-S.+gelatin, 1,  2,  3 

tin,  2 

25A 

8 

Scalecide,  1 

L — S.  + gelatin,  1,  2,  3b 

26 

8 

Scalecide,  1;  B.M.+gela- 

B.M. + cal-cas.,  1,  2,  3 

tin,  2 

27 

8 

Scalecide,  1;  L-S.+gela- 

B.M.+cal-cas., 1,  2,  3° 

tin,  2 

28 

48 

Unsprayed 

Unsprayed 

30 

20 

L-S.,  1 

31 

20 

I^S.,  1,  2 

32 

24 

L-S.+glue,  1 

33 

24 

L-S.+glue,  1,  2 

34 

24 

L-S.  + gelatin,  1 

35 

24 

L-S.  + gelatin,  1,  2 

36 

24 

L— S.  + saponin,  1 

37 

24 

] 

L— S.+saponin,  1,  2 

38 

24 

..  1 

L— S.  + cal-cas.,  1 

39 

24 

] 

L-S.  + cal-cas.,  1,  2 

aL-S.  = liquid  lime-sulfur.  B.M.  = Bordeaux  mixture.  Cal-cas.  = calcium  caseinate  spreader. 

Spray  applications  designated  as:  1 = delayed-dormant,  using  lime-sulfur,  1-10,  or  Bordeaux 

mixture,  6-6-50;  2 = application  about  one  week  before  blooming  period,  using  lime-sulfur, 
1-40,  or  Bordeaux  mixture,  3-3-50:  3 = application  one  week  after  blooming,  using  lime- 
sulfur,  1-40,  or  Bordeaux  mixture,  3-3-50,  except  as  noted  in  footnotes  following. 

For  discussion  of  spreaders  see  page  12- 
b Lime-sulfur,  1-80,  plus  gelatin  was  used  in  application  3. 

0 Bordeaux  mixture,  1 Vi- 1 H-50,  plus  calcium  caseinate  was  used  in  application  3. 


12 


Research  Bulletin  59 


Preparation  of  Sprays 

Lime-sulfur.  Commercial  liquid  lime-sulfur  testing  33°  Baume  was 
used  in  the  experiments.  The  required  amount  of  liquid  was  added  to 
the  water  to  make  the  strengths  outlined  in  the  summary  of  treatment 
(Table  III). 

Bordeaux  mixture.  Pound  to  gallon  “stock  solutions”  of  lime  and 
copper  sulfate  were  prepared.  To  make  the  Bordeaux  mixture  of  the 
6-6-50  formula,  six  gallons  of  the  lime  “solution”  was  diluted  to  25 
gallons,  and  six  gallons  of  the  copper  sulfate  solution  was  diluted  to 
25  gallons  after  which  the  two  were  mixed  with  agitation.  Bordeaux 
mixtures  of  other  formulae  were  made  in  a corresponding  manner. 

Spreaders  with  Lime- Sulfur 

Gelatin.  One-half  pound  of  white  gelatin  was  used  to  each  100  gal- 
lons of  spray.  The  gelatin  was  placed  in  solution  with  a small  amount 
of  water  aided  by  slight  heating.  This  solution  was  added  to  the 
diluted  spray  mixture  and  agitated. 

Glue.  One  pound  of  finely  ground  high  grade  glue  was  added  to  each 
100  gallons  of  spray.  The  glue  was  placed  in  solution  and  added  to  the 
diluted  spray  mixture  in  the  same  manner  as  the  gelatin. 

Saponin.  One  ounce  of  soap  tree  bark  was  placed  in  one  quart  of 
water  and  boiled  for  15  minutes.  The  liquid  was  strained  and  used  at 
the  rate  of  eight  ounces  to  ten  gallons  of  spray  mixture. 

Calcium  caseinate.  A proprietary  preparation  of  casein  and  lime  was 
used  at  the  rate  of  one  pound  to  each  100  gallons  of  diluted  spray. 
The  powdered  material  was  added  to  the  diluted  spray  mixture  slowly, 
with  agitation. 

Spreaders  with  Bordeaux  Mixture 

Gelatin.  Added  as  outlined  above. 

Glue.  Added  as  outlined  above. 

Calcium  caseinate.  During  the  season  of  1922  the  proprietary  prepara- 
tion was  used  as  outlined  above.  During  the  seasons  of  1920  and  1921 
this  material  was  made  as  follows : 200  grams  of  powdered  casein  was 
mixed  thoroughly  with  480  grams  of  hydrated  lime.  The  dry  mixture 
was  added  to  the  spray,  slowly  and  with  agitation,  at  the  rate  of  150 
grams  to  25  gallons  of  the  diluted  spray  mixture. 

Milk.  Milk  was  added  to  the  diluted  spray  mixture  at  the  rate  of 
two  gallons  to  100  gallons  of  the  spray,  as  recommended  by  Lecomte 
(1913). 

Condition  of  Plots 

The  experimental  plots  were  located  in  the  H.  Fischer  planting  near 
Madison,  Wisconsin.  In  1920  four  rows  of  78  plants  each  were  selected  in 
a four-year-old  Cumberland  raspberry  planting.  The  plants  were  four 
feet  apart  in  the  rows  and  the  rows  five  feet  apart.  Plots  1 to  14,  with 
the  number  of  plants  shown  in  Table  III,  were  arranged  consecutively  in 


Anthracnose  of  Cane  Fruits 


13 


the  four  rows.  During  the  seasons  of  1921  and  1922  an  adjacent  plant- 
ing of  Cumberland  raspberries  was  selected  for  additional  plots,  the 
planting  being  four  years  old  in  1921  (Plate  IV,  B).  The  plots  were 
square  or  rectangular  and  contained  the  number  of  plants  shown  in  Table 
III.  Previous  to  1920  no  spraying  had  been  done  for  the  control  of  the 
disease  in  the  H.  Fischer  planting,  which  was  heavily  infected  with 
anthracnose  (Plate  I,  A). 

EXPERIMENTS  IN  1920 
Treatment 

A summary  of  treatment  appears  in  Table  III,  and  supplementary  data 
follow. 

The  delayed-dormant  spray  was  applied  on  April  26  to  plots  2,  3,  4 and 
6,  but  a heavy  rain  washed  off  most  of  the  spray  before  it  could  dry  and 
made  it  necessary  to  discontinue  the  work  On  April  29,  a partly  cloudy 
day,  all  plots  were  sprayed,  including  the  ones  that  had  been  sprayed  on 
April  26.  A “Perfection”  hand  sprayer  was  used.  Since  there  was  no 
foliage  on  the  canes  at  this  time  it  was  easy  to  cover  them  thoroughly  with 
a low  pressure.  An  average  of  one-half  pint  of  spray  per  plant  was  used. 
The  buds  on  the  old  canes  were  showing  from  one-quarter  to  one-half 
inch  of  green  tissue  with  no  leaves  unfolded. 

The  second  application  of  spray  was  made  on  May  26,  a bright,  clear 
day.  A double-action  pressure  pump  with  a barrel  attachment  was  used, 
and  a pressure  of  150  to  200  pounds  was  maintained  on  a single  disc 
nozzle.  An  average  of  three-quarters  of  a pint  of  spray  per  plant  was 
used.  The  plants  were  grown  in  the  hill  system  and  tied  to  stakes.  The 
foliage  was  so  dense  that  it  was  hard  to  cover  the  old  canes  thoroughly. 
Buds  were  forming  on  the  fruiting  branches  and  the  new  shoots  were  12 
to  15  inches  high. 


Results 

Observations  made  May  4 showed  no  apparent  injury  from  the  dormant 
strength  spray.  Observations  made  May  26  showed  very  little  infection  on 
the  plots.  Primary  infection  occurred  during  the  rain  of  May  10,  appear- 
ing as  lesions  on  May  13,  although  the  infection  was  very  light  at  this 
time. 

In  order  to  obtain  comparative  data  on  the  effectiveness  of  the  different 
spray  applications,  a count  of  the  number  of  lesions  on  each  of  20  canes 
and  20  fruiting  branches  per  plot,  chosen  at  random,  was  made  on  June 
17  and  again  on  July  13.  A summary  of  this  count  work  appears  in  Table 
IV.  As  the  plants  were  heavily  pruned  in  the  latter  part  of  July,  it 
was  impossible  to  obtain  further  data.  However,  very  little  infection 
occurred  after  the  last  counts  had  been  made. 

The  results  of  the  counts  made  on  the  canes  and  fruiting  branches  are 
discussed  in  accordance  with  the  objects  of  the  experiments. 


Table  IV.— Results  op  Spraying  Experiments  for  the  Control  of  Anthracnose  on  Cumberland  Raspberries,  H.  Fischer  Planting 

Madison,  Wisconsin,  1920a 


C0 

ctf 

T) 

T) 

0) 

03 

-u 

m 

a 

o 

a 

.2 

July  13th 

On 

fruiting 

branches 

Research  Bulletin  59 

1 *OOOOCOt>in><N*OC<li-H<NrH<£> 
04 

On  canes  by  feet 

Total 

159.2 
6 2 
5.1 
9.6 
57.8 
20  5 

57.8 
28.3 
33  9 

31.5 

18.5 

28.6 
16  5 

45.8 

4 th 
foot 

27.3 

1.3 
0.9 
6.0 

19.2 

7.4 

38.2 

15.2 

21.4 
15.9 
11.6 
16.7 

9.8 

21.5 

3rd 

foot 

59.7 
3.2 

3.4 

3.2 
30.5 

8.7 

13.1 
8.6 

9.2 

11.7 
4.6 
7.1 

2.5 

15.2 

2nd 

foot 

38.7 

1.0 

0.5 

0.2 

5.1 
2.8 

3.7 
1.9 
2.0 

2.7 

1.1 
3.4 

1.8 
5.7 

lstc 

foot 

32.5 

0.7 

0.3 

0.2 

3.0 

1.6 

2.8 

2.6 

1.3 
1.2 
1.2 

1.4 

2.4 

3.4 

t 

° 

1 

£ 

c 

0) 

M 

c3 

S 

> 

< 

June  17th 

On 

fruiting 

branches 

26.8 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.2 

1.9 

0.1 

0.0 

0.5 

0.7 

0.4 

1.0 

0.3 

1.1 

Total 

87.8 

0.4 

0.4 

0.7 

5.8 

5.4 

3.4 

4.4 

3.5 

5.2 
3.4 

11.2 

3.2 
15  2 

On  canes  by  feet 

4th 

foot 

0 0 
0 0 
0 0 
0 0 
0 0 
0 0 
0 0 
0 0 
0 0 
0 0 
0 0 
0 0 
0 0 
ro 

3rd 

foot 

10 
0 0 
2 0 
o'  0 
0 0 
0 0 
0 0 
0 0 
80 
0 0 
0 0 
0 0 
00 
9 ' II 

2nd 

foot 

31.2 

0.0 

0.0 

0.3 

3.5 

4.1 

1.6 
0.8 
1.9 
2.6 
0.6 
3.4 
0.3 

6.2 

1st® 

foot 

44.6 

0.4 

0.4 

0.4 

2.3 

1.0 

1.8 

3.6 

1.6 
2.6 
2.8 
6.6 
2.9 
8.8 

Treatment  b 

Unsprayed  

L-S.+glue,  1, 2__  _____  __  _ 

L-S.  + gelatin,  1, 2 _ _ _ _. 

L-S. + gelatin,  1 _ _ 

L-S.  + glue,  1 

L-S.,  1 

B.M.+cal-cas.,  1 

B.M.  + cal-cas.,  1,  2 __  _ _ _ _ _ __ 

B.M.+milk,  1 

B.M.  + gelatin,  1 

B.M.  + gelatin,  1,  2_ 

B.M.  + glue,  1 _ _ 

B.M.+  glue,  1,  2 _ __  __  ___ 

B.M.,  1 

Plot 

No. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 
9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

a A summary  of  counts  made  on  twenty  canes  and  twenty  fruiting  branches  per  plot,  chosen  at  random. 
b See  Table  III  for  details  of  treatment.  Spraying  dates:  1 (delayed-dormantl,  April  29;  2,  May  26. 

0 Basal  foot  of  cane. 


Plate  I 

A.  — Anthracnose  lesions  on  two-year-old  canes  of  Cumberland  raspberry 
from  the  H.  Fischer  planting,  Madison,  Wisconsin,  showing  the  severity 
of  the  disease  when  the  control  experiments  were  begun  in  1920. 

B.  — Longitudinal  cracking  of  Cumberland  canes  following  severe 
anthracnose  infection. 

C.  — Anthracnose  lesions  on  a Plum  Farmer  raspberry  cane. 


Plate  II 

Cumberland  raspberry  fruiting  branches  from  unsprayed  plants,  July  7, 
1921.  The  abundance  of  anthracnose  lesions  on  peduncles  and  pedicels 
caused  a reduced  yield  of  fruit. 


Plate  III 

A.  — Seven-day-old  growth  of  P.  vcneta  on  dextrose-potato  agar 
(x  .65).  Cultures  made  from  a conidial  suspension  and  held  at  various 
constant  temperatures  (Centigrade). 

B.  — Photomicrograph  of  a cross  section  of  an  ascocarp  of  P.  veneta 
from  a cane  lesion,  showing  one  globular  ascus  with  ascospores. 

C.  — Photomicrograph  of  a cross  section  of  a lesion  on  a young  cane, 
showing  collapsed  host  tissue  and  the  production  of  conidia. 


Plate  IV 

A.  — Development  of  the  foliage  on  raspberry  canes  in  the  H.  Fischer 
planting  on  May  2,  1922.  It  is  recommended  that  the  delayed-dormant 
spray  be  applied  after  a few  leaves  have  unfolded  from  the  buds  on  the 
old  canes,  as  shown  by  the  cane  marked  1. 

B.  — General  view  of  the  H.  Fischer  Cumberland  raspberry  planting 
where  the  control  experiments  were  carried  on,  April  19,  1921. 


APRIL  MAY  JUNE  JULY 


A correlation  of  disease  and  host  development  with  meteorological  records  and  dates  of  spray  applications,  raspberry  anthrac- 
nose  experiments,  H.  Fischer  planting,  Madison,  Wis.,  1921  (see  pagel5). 


> 


<u 


Qu 


A correlation  of  disease  and  host  development  with  meteorolog'cal  records  and  dates  of  spray  applications,  raspberry  anthrac- 
nose  experiments,  H.  Fischer  planting,  Madison,  Wis.,  1922  (see  page  19). 


Plate  VII 

A.  — A young  Cumberland  raspberry  cane  which  received  two  thorough 
and  timely  applications  of  lime-sulfur  spray  with  gelatin  as  a spreader, 
H.  Fischer  planting  (plot  3).  Photographed  July  7,  1921. 

B.  — A young  unsprayed  cane  from  the  same  planting  (plot  1),  showing 
the  extent  of  the  disease  on  the  canes  of  unsprayed  plants  at  harvest  time. 
Photographed  July  7,  1921. 


A.  — Cumberland  raspberry  fruiting  branches  which  received  two  thorough  and  timely  applications  of  lime-sulfur  spray  with 
gelatin  as  a spreader,  H.  Fischer  planting  (plot  3).  Photographed  July  7,  1921. 

B.  — Unsprayed  fruiting  branches  from  the  same  planting  (plot  1),  showing  the  dried  condition  of  the  fruit  caused  by  anthrac- 
nose  on  branches  and  pedicels.  Photographed  July  7,  1921. 


Anthracnose  of  Cane  Fruits 


15 


The  effectiveness  of  lime-sulfur  as  compared  with  Bordeaux  mixture. 

In  general,  lime-sulfur  was  more  effective  in  controlling  the  disease  than 
was  Bordeaux  mixture. 

The  effectiveness  of  a delayed-dormant  spray  only.  Lime-sulfur  with 
gelatin  as  a spreader  gave  excellent  control  of  the  disease,  and  lime- 
sulfur  without  a spreader  controlled  the  disease  commercially.  Lime- 
sulfur  in  combination  with  glue  as  a spreader  failed  to  check  the  dis- 
ease in  the  latter  part  of  the  season. 

Bordeaux  mixture  with  glue  gave  commercial  control  of  the  disease, 
while  poor  control  was  obtained  from  the  use  of  Bordeaux  mixture 
alone  or  in  combination  with  gelatin,  calcium  caseinate  or  milk. 

The  effectiveness  of  a delayed-dormant  spray  followed  by  a second 
application  about  one  week  before  blooming.  Lime-sulfur  with  gelatin 
or  glue  as  a spreader  gave  very  good  control  of  the  disease.  Bordeaux 
mixture  with  gelatin,  glue  or  calcium  caseinate  as  a spreader  may  be 
classed  as  having  given  commercial  control. 

The  effectiveness  of  adding  spreaders  to  the  above  sprays.  The  ad- 
dition of  gelatin  to  lime-sulfur  distinctly  increased  the  effectiveness  of 
the  spray.  Glue  in  combination  with  lime-sulfur,  when  two  applica- 
tions of  spray  were  made,  increased  the  effectiveness  of  the  spray  nearly 
as  much  as  did  the  gelatin.  The  addition  of  glue  gelatin,  milk  or  calcium 
caseinate  to  Bordeaux  mixture  increased  its  effectiveness  in  controlling 
the  disease,  glue  and  gelatin  being  the  more  efficient. 

EXPERIMENTS  IN  1921 
Seasonal  Development  of  Host 

The  first  exposure  of  green  tissue  in  the  leaf  buds  was  observed  April 
8,  and  the  warm  period  from  April  11  to  13  caused  the  buds  to  develop 
until  an  average  of  one  small  leaf  was  unfolded  and  one-half  inch  of  green 
tissue  was  showing.  The  snow  and  cold  weather  of  April  15  and  16 
checked  the  growth.  The  first  new  shoots  appeared  above  the  ground 
about  April  28. 

In  order  that  the  seasonal  development  of  the  host  might  be  followed,  20 
canes  and  20  fruiting  branches  on  the  plants  in  the  unsprayed  plot  were 
tagged  on  May  15.  The  length  of  these  canes  and  fruiting  branches  was 
recorded  at  intervals  of  two  to  five  days  until  no  further  increase  was 
noted.  These  data  are  recorded  graphically  in  Plate  V in  relation  to  the 
development  of  other  factors  important  in  the  control  of  the  disease.1 

From  a study  of  Plate  V it  will  be  seen  that  most  rapid  growth  of  the 
host  occurred  between  May  17  and  June  4,  while  the  fruiting  branches  had 
practically  ceased  growing  by  June  2.  The  young  canes  continued  to 
elongate  until  about  July  9,  when  they  averaged  about  35  inches  in  length. 


1 The  climatological  data  are  from  the  records  of  the  Madison  station  of 
the  United  States  Weather  Bureau  (Climatological  data.  U.  S.  D^pt.  Agr. 
Weather  Bur.  Wis.  Section  26:  15-32.  1921).  The  H.  Fischer  raspberry  planting  is' 
located  five  miles  east  of  the  Weather  Bureau  station,  and  undoubtedly  the 
climatological  conditions  vary  somewhat  from  those  recorded  at  the  Weather 
Bureau  station. 


16 


Research  Bulletin  59 


Seasonal  Development  of  Disease 

The  seasonal  development  of  the  disease  was  followed  on  the  above 
noted  20  canes  and  20  fruiting  branches,  the  increase  in  number  of  lesions 
being  recorded  at  intervals  of  two  to  five  days  throughout  the  period  of 
increase  in  infection.  Additional  records  were  made  on  August  17  and 
September  23  to  ascertain  whether  any  infection  had  taken  place  late  in  the 
season.  The  data  were  averaged  and  are  recorded  graphically  in  Plate  V. 
Supplementary  data  as  to  the  development  of  the  disease  are  to  be  found 
in  Table  V. 

From  a study  of  Plate  V it  will  be  seen  that  the  first  lesions  appeared 
on  May  16,  infection  having  taken  place  during  the  rains  of  May  10  to 
13.  The  greatest  development  of  the  disease  occurred  during  the  last  half 
of  May,  when  the  raspberry  plants  were  making  their  most  rapid  growth. 
There  was  a continued  increase  in  the  amount  of  disease  until  July  20, 
and  the  more  important  infection  periods  may  be  traced  to  preceding 
rains,  allowing  from  two  to  seven  days  for  incubation.  The  disease  de- 

Table  V. — Average  Increase  in  Number  of  Anthracnose  Lesions  on  Canes  and 
Fruiting  Branches  of  Un  sprayed  Cumberland  Raspberry  Plants,  H. 
Fischer  Planting,  Madison,  Wis.,  1921. 


Dates 

observed 

On  cane; 

s by  feet  a 

On  fruiting 
branchesb 

1st0 

foot 

2nd 

foot 

3rd 

foot 

4th 

foot 

Total 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

May  15 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

17 

15.8 

0.0 

0.0 

1.1 

16.9 

6.6 

19 

9.7 

0.0 

0.0 

1 .0 

10.7 

4.3 

23 

2.3 

0.0 

0 .0 

0.3 

2.6 

5.1 

26 

33.0 

12.4 

0.0 

0.4 

45.8 

11.8 

30 

11.3 

110.0 

1.0 

0.1 

122.4 

13.5 

June  2 

8.4 

42.2 

3.7 

0.1 

54.4 

9.0 

7 

5.8 

31.5 

15.7 

0.0 

53.3 

8.7 

10 

3.1 

17.2 

6.4 

0.0 

26.7 

8.1 

14 

0.6 

9.7 

9.7 

0.0 

20.0 

8.4 

18 

0.2 

5.1 

29.4 

0.0 

34.7 

4.1 

22 

0.0 

2.4 

16.0 

0.0 

18.4 

2.6 

25 

0.0 

1.0 

10.0 

0.0 

11  .0 

1 .2 

29 

0.0 

0.3 

4.4 

0.0 

4.7 

1.1 

July  1 

0.0 

0.0 

1 .5 

0.0 

1.5 

0.0 

5 

0.0 

0.0 

0.1 

0.0 

0.1 

0.0 

9 

0.0 

0.0 

0.5 

0.0 

0.5 

0.0 

11 

0.0 

0.0 

0.6 

12.2 

12.8 

0.0 

14 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

7.9 

7.9 

0.0 

16 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

5.4 

5.4 

0.0 

19 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

4.3 

4.3 

0.0 

21 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

Aug.  17 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

Sept.  23 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

•■Average  increase  in  number  of  lesions  on  twenty  canes  tagged  on  May 
15. 

bAverage  increase  in  number  of  lesions  on  twenty  fruiting  branches 
tagged  on  May  15. 

'Basal  foot  of  cane. 

veloped  very  abundantly  during  the  season.  The  lack  of  disease  de- 
velopment after  July  20  seems  to  have  been  due,  primarily,  to  the  cessation 
of  host  development.  This  is  further  shown  in  Table  V where  in- 
creases in  the  number  of  lesions  on  the  young  growing  portions  of  the 


17 


Anthracnose  of  Cane  Fruits 

canes  are  recorded,  in  contrast  with  the  cessation  of  disease  development 
on  the  older  and  hardened  portions.  High  temperatures  during  the  sum- 
mer (Plate  V)  may  have  been  an  important  factor  in  checking  disease 
development,  since  the  writer’s  investigations  have  shown  that  the  maximum 
temperature  for  growth  of  the  organism  on  dextrose-potato  agar  is 
about  90°  F. 

Treatment 

A summary  of  treatment  appears  in  Table  III,  and  supplementary  data 
follow. 

The  delayed-dormant  spray  was  applied  on  April  19,  a bright  day  with 
a ten-mile  easterly  wind.  A barrel  pump  was  used,  and  a pressure  of  100 
to  150  pounds  was  maintained  on  a single  disc  nozzle.  An  average  of 
three-fourths  pint  of  spray  per  plant  was  used.  The  leaf  buds  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  canes  had  opened,  averaging  one  leaf  unfolded  with  two 
to  four  leaves  folded  but  separated  from  the  bud.  The  lower  buds  showed 
one-half  inch  of  green  tissue  with  an  average  of  one  leaf  folded  but 
separated  from  the  bud. 

The  second  spray  application  was  made  May  10,  a cloudy,  cool  day. 
A barrel  pump  outfit  was  used,  and  a pressure  of  100  to  150  pounds  was 
maintained  on  a single  disc  nozzle.  An  average  of  1^4  pints  of  spray  per 
plant  was  used.  The  young  shoots  were  three  to  four  inches  high,  and  the 
fruiting  branches  five  to  six  inches  long  with  the  blossom  buds  well 
formed. 

Results 

Counts  were  made  of  the  number  of  lesions  on  canes  and  fruiting 
branches  on  the  various  plots  as  in  1920,  and  the  results  appear  in  Table 
VI.  Plates  VII  and  VIII  further  illustrate  the  effectiveness  of  spraying 
for  the  control  of  this  disease  in  1921. 

The  results  of  the  counts  are  discussed  in  accordance  with  the  objects 
of  the  experiments. 

Unsprayed.  The  disease  was  extremely  abundant  on  the  unsprayed 
plants  and  more  so  in  the  planting  which  had  received  no  previous 
treatment  for  the  control  of  the  disease. 

The  effectiveness  of  lime-sulfur  as  compared  with  Bordeaux  mixture. 

There  was  little  or  no  difference  in  the  effectiveness  of  these  two  spray 
materials. 

The  effectiveness  of  a delayed-dormant  spray  only.  On  the  plants 
which  had  been  sprayed  the  previous  season  lime-sulfur  in  combina- 
tion with  glue  or  gelatin  as  a spreader,  and  Bordeaux  mixture  with 
gelatin  gave  fair  control  of  the  disease.  Lime-sulfur  alone,  and  Bor- 
deaux mixture  alone  or  in  combination  with  glue,  milk  or  calcium 
caseinate  were  not  very  effective  in  controlling  the  disease.  On  plants 
which  had  received  no  previous  treatment  for  the  control  of  the  disease 
all  spray  materials  failed  to  control  the  disease  commercially  when  only 
the  delayed-dormant  application  was  made.  Lime-sulfur  with  gelatin, 
and  Bordeaux  mixture  with  calcium  caseinate  gave  better  control  than 
any  other  spray  combination  in  this  test. 


Table  VI.— Results  of  Spraying  Experiments  for  the  Control  of  Anthracnose  on  Cumberland  Raspberries,  H.  Fischer  Planting, 

Madison,  Wisconsin,  1921a 


18 


Research  Bulletin  59 


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A summary  of  counts  made  on  twenty  canes  and  twenty  fruiting  branches  per  plot,  chosen  at  random,  August  15,  1921. 

See  Table  III  for  details  of  treatment. 

Spraying  dates:  1 (delayed-dormant),  April  19;  2,  May  10. 

Plots  1-14  had  received  the  same  treatment  in  1920,  while  plots  15-28  had  received  no  previous  treatment  for  the  control  of  the  disease. 


Anthracnose  of  Cane  Fruits 


19 


The  effectiveness  of  a delayed-dormant  spray  followed  by  a second 
application  about  one  week  before  blooming.  On  plants  which  had  been 
treated  the  previous  season  satisfactory  control  was  obtained  from  the 
use  of  lime-sulfur  alone  or  with  gelatin  or  glue  as  a spreader,  and 
from  the  use  of  Bordeaux  mixture  with  gelatin  or  calcium  caseinate  as 
a spreader.  Although  no  satisfactory  control  was  obtained  on  the  plants 
that  had  not  been  treated  the  previous  season,  lime-sulfur  with 
glue,  and  Bordeaux  mixture  with  calcium  caseinate  were  more  effective 
than  the  other  spray  combinations. 

The  effectiveness  of  a single  spray  application  about  one  week  before 
blooming.  Lime-sulfur  with  saponin  or  gelatin  as  a spreader,  and  Bor- 
deaux mixture  with  gelatin  as  a spreader  showed  little  effectiveness  in 
controlling  the  disease  when  only  the  one  application  of  spray  was 
made,  about  one  week  before  the  plants  were  in  blossom. 

Th6  effectiveness  of  adding  spreaders  to  the  above  sprays.  Added 
effectiveness  was  obtained  by  using  spreaders  with  the  sprays  during 
this  season,  which  was  one  of  extremely  abundant  infection.  Greater 
benefit  was  obtained  from  the  use  of  gelatin  or  glue  with  lime-sulfur, 
and  from  calcium  caseinate  with  Bordeaux  mixture  than  from  any 
other  spreader  used  with  either  of  these  sprays. 

EXPERIMENTS  IN  1922 
Seasonal  Development  of  Host 

The  seasonal  development  of  the  host  was  followed  as  in  1921,  and  the 
results  are  shown  graphically  in  Plate  VI  in  relation  to  the  development 
of  other  factors  important  in  the  control  of  the  disease.1 

On  April  18  the  buds  on  the  old  canes  were  showing  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  of  green  tissue,  but  no  leaves  had  unfolded.  The  first 
leaves  were  unfolded  on  April  22  and  the  new  shoots  began  to  appear  above 
the  ground  May  1.  The  development  of  foliage  on  the  old  canes  on  May 
2 is  shown  in  Plate  IV,  A.  From  a study  of  Plate  VI  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  canes  continued  to  increase  in  length  until  August  1,  and  that  the  most 
rapid  growth  occurred  between  May  15  and  June  12.  The  fruiting  branches 
had  obtained  their  maximum  length  about  May  27. 

Seasonal  Development  of  Disease 

The  seasonal  development  of  the  disease  was  followed  on  20  canes  and 
20  fruiting  branches  as  in  1921.  The  data  are  recorded  graphically  in 
Plate  VI,  and  supplementary  data  are  to  be  found  in  Table  VII.  From  a 
study  of  Plate  VI  it  will  be  seen  that  the  disease  first  developed  in  the 
field  on  May  20  and  that  no  increase  in  number  of  lesions  was  observed 
after  August  1.  The  greatest  development  of  disease  occurred  during  the 
early  part  of  June  when  the  plants  were  making  their  most  rapid  growth. 


*The  climatological  data  are  from  the  records  of  the  Madison  station  of 
the  United  States  Weather  Bureau  as  in  1921  (Climatological  data.  U.  S. 
Dept.  Agr.  Weather  Bur.  Wis.  Section  27:  17-32.  1922). 


20 


Research  Bulletin  59 


The  disease  continued  to  develop  through  a longer  period  in  1922  than  in 
1921,  which  may  be  correlated  with  the  fact  that  the  growth  of  the 
host  plants  continued  for  a longer  period  in  the  season  of  1922.  The  fact 
that  the  temperature  seldom  reached  90°  Fahrenheit  during  June  and  July 
of  1922  may  have  had  some  effect  in  favoring  the  longer  period  of  in- 
fection. As  in  the  previous  season  the  greatest  amount  of  disease  de- 
veloped when  the  host  plants  were  growing  most  rapidly.  As  in  1921 
the  older  portions  of  the  canes  developed  resistance  to  the  disease  while  the 
younger  portions  were  being  infected  (Table  VII),  which  further  in- 
dicates that  the  rapidly  growing  portions  of  the  raspberry  plant  are  the 
most  susceptible  to  the  disease  and  that  resistance  to  the  disease  is  de- 
veloped as  the  growth  ceases  and  the  plant  tissues  harden. 


Table  VII. — Average  Increase  in  Number  of  Anthracnose  Lesions  on  Canes 
and  Fruiting  Branches  of  Unsprayed  Cumberland  Raspberry  Plants, 
H.  Fischer  Planting,  Madison,  Wis.,  1922. 


Dates 

observed 

On  canes  by  feeta 

On  fruiting 
branchesb 

1 st° 
foot 

2nd 

foot 

3rd 

foot 

4th 

foot 

Total 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

No. 

May  17 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

20 

0.3 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.3 

0.1 

22 

1.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

1.0 

0.2 

26 

1 .0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

1.0 

0.1 

29 

2.5 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

2.5 

0.8 

June  1 

5.7 

1 .6 

0.0 

0.0 

7.3 

2.3 

4 

2.0 

10.3 

0.3 

0.0 

12.6 

1 .0 

7 

0.5 

11.3 

1.5 

0.0 

13.3 

0.3 

10 

0.1 

3.9 

1 .4 

0.0 

5.4 

0.3 

12 

0.0 

10.9 

0.7 

0.0 

11.6 

0.0 

16 

0.0 

0.4 

0.8 

0.3 

1.5 

0.0 

19 

0.0 

0.9 

0.0 

0.0 

0.9 

0.0 

22 

0.0 

0.3 

0.3 

0.0 

0.6 

0.0 

24 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.5 

0.5 

0.0 

29 

0.0 

0.0 

0.2 

0.0 

0.2 

0.0 

July  2 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.3 

0.3 

0.0 

5 

0.0 

0.0 

1.4 

0.4 

1 .8 

0.0 

11 

0.0 

0.0 

1 .0 

0.0 

1 .0 

0.0 

18 

0.0 

0.0 

2.0 

1.8 

3.8 

0.0 

24 

0.0 

0.0 

1.0 

3.0 

4.0 

0.0 

Aug.  1 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

1 .3 

1 .3 

0.0 

11 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

Oct.  7 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

a Average  increase  in  number  of  lesions  on  twenty  canes  tagged  on  May 
17. 

bAverage  increase  in  number  of  lesions  on  twenty  fruiting  branches 
tagged  on  May  17. 

cBasal  foot  of  cane. 

Treatment 

A summary  of  treatment  appears  in  Table  III,  and  additional  data 
follow. 

The  delayed-dormant  spray  was  applied  on  May  2,  a cloudy  day  with  a 
light  easterly  wind.  A wheelbarrow  spray  outfit  was  used,  and  a 
pressure  of  100  to  150  pounds  was  maintained  on  a single  disc  nozzle.  An 
average  of  one-half  pint  of  spray  per  plant  was  used.  The  stage  of  de- 
velopment of  the  foliage  on  the  old  canes  at  the  time  when  this  spray 
was  applied  is  shown  in  Plate  IV,  A.  The  new  shoots  were  beginning  to 
appear  above  ground. 


Anthracnose  of  Cane  Fruits 


21 


The  second  application  of  spray  was  made  on  May  17,  a cloudy,  cool 
day  with  a light  breeze  from  the  southeast.  The  wheelbarrow  spray  out- 
fit was  used,  and  a pressure  of  75  to  100  pounds  was  maintained  on  a 
single  disc  nozzle.  An  average  of  pints  of  spray  per  plant  was  used. 
The  young  canes  were  eight  to  nine  inches  high,  and  the  fruiting  branches 
seven  to  eight  inches  long  with  the  blossom  buds  well  formed. 

The  third  application  of  spray  was  made  on  June  1,  at  the  end  of  the 
blooming  period  of  the  plants.  The  wheelbarrow  spray  outfit  was  used, 
and  a pressure  of  75  to  100  pounds  was  maintained  on  a single  disc 
nozzle.  An  average  of  \l/2  pints  of  spray  per  plant  was  used.  The  new 
canes  were  22  to  23  inches  high. 

Results 

Counts  were  made  of  the  number  of  lesions  on  canes  and  fruiting 
branches  on  the  various  plots,  as  in  1920  and  1921,  a summary  of  which 
appears  in  Table  VIII. 

The  results  of  the  counts  are  discussed  in  accordance  with  the  objects 
of  the  experiments. 

Unsprayed.  The  disease  was  fairly  abundant  on  the  unsprayed  plants, 
although  not  so  abundant  as  in  the  previous  season.  Plants  which  had 
been  sprayed  in  1920  and  1921  but  left  unsprayed  in  1922  showed  con- 
siderable decrease  in  the  amount  of  infection  on  them  as  compared  with 
the  amount  of  infection  on  plants  which  had  been  left  unsprayed  the 
three  seasons  (plots  5A  and  1).  This  cumulative  benefit  from  spraying 
is  not  evident,  however,  in  a comparison  of  results  from  plots  17B 
(sprayed  in  1921,  unsprayed  in  1922)  and  28  (unsprayed  the  two  sea- 
sons). 

The  effectiveness  of  lime-sulfur  as  compared  with  Bordeaux  mixture. 

In  general,  lime-sulfur  gave  slightly  better  control  of  the  disease  than 
did  Bordeaux  mixture. 

The  effectiveness  of  a delayed-dormant  spray  only.  Commercial  con- 
trol of  the  disease  was  obtained  from  the  use  of  lime-sulfur  alone  or  in 
combination  with  glue,  gelatin  or  calcium  caseinate  as  a spreader,  and 
from  the  use  of  Bordeaux  mixture  with  calcium  caseinate  as  a spreader. 
Lime-sulfur  with  saponin  as  a spreader,  and  Bordeaux  mixture  alone 
or  in  combination  with  glue,  gelatin  or  milk  failed  to  control  the  disease 
commercially. 

The  effectiveness  of  a delayed-dormant  spray  followed  by  a second  ap- 
plication about  one  week  before  blooming.  Very  satisfactory  control  of 
the  disease  was  obtained  from  the  use  of  each  of  the  spray  combina- 
tions, with  little  difference  in  their  effectiveness. 

The  effectiveness  of  a delayed-dormant  spray  followed  by  two  appli- 
cations; (A)  one  week  before  the  blooming  period,  and  (B)  at  the  end 
of  the  blooming  period.  Excellent  control  of  the  disease  was  obtained 
from  the  use  of  lime-sulfur  with  gelatin,  and  Bordeaux  mixture  with 
calcium  caseinate,  but  extreme  injury  to  the  foliage  resulted  from  appli- 
cation of  the  sprays  after  the  blooming  period.  Little  or  no  reduction 


Table  VIII. — Results  of  Spraying  Experiments  for  the  Control  of  Anthracnose  on  Cumberland  Raspberries,  H.  Fischer  Planting, 

Madison,  Wisconsin,  1922a 


22 


Research  Bulletin  59 


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Anthracnose  of  Cane  Fruits 


23 


in  the  amount  of  foliage  injury  was  brought  about  by  reducing  the 
strength  of  the  summer  sprays  by  one-half  in  this  third  application. 

The  effectiveness  of  a single  spray  application  about  one  week  before 
blooming.  Lime-sulfur  with  gelatin  or  saponin  as  a spreader,  and 
Bordeaux  mixture  with  gelatin  failed  to  control  the  disease  commer- 
cially when  only  the  one  application  of  spray  was  made,  about  one  week 
before  the  blooming  period  of  the  plants. 

The  effectiveness  of  adding  spreaders  to  the  above  sprays.  Very 
little  benefit  was  obtained  from  the  use  of  spreaders  with  the  sprays 
during  this  season,  which  was  one  of  only  moderately  abundant  in- 
fection. 


24 


Research  Bulletin  59 


SUMMARY 

Anthracnose,  caused  by  the  fungus  Plectodiscella  veneta  Burk.,  mani- 
fests itself  in  purplish  to  white  spotting  of  the  canes,  leaves,  petioles, 
peduncles,  and  pedicels,  and  in  drying  up  of  the  fruit. 

The  disease  appears  to  be  widespread  with  its  hosts  in  the  United 
States,  and  has  been  reported  as  common  to  blackberries  and  raspberries 
in  Canada.  The  black  raspberry  has  been  observed  to  be  more  susceptible 
to  the  disease  in  Wisconsin  than  any  other  host.  No  difference  in 
susceptibility  of  the  different  varieties  of  black  raspberry  has  been  ob- 
served. 

Anthracnose  is  one  of  the  most  serious  diseases  of  black  raspberries  and 
blackberries.  It  is  reported  as  entirely  eliminating  the  growing  of  rasp- 
berries in  some  sections  of  the  United  States,  and  estimates  of  the  an- 
nual loss  in  fruit  yield  due  to  this  disease  in  various  sections  of  the  United 
States  range  from  12  to  63  per  cent  of  the  crop.  The  writer  obtained 
data  in  1921  showing  a 33.2  per  cent  decrease  in  fruit  yield  caused  by  this 
disease  on  black  raspberries. 

The  minimal  temperature  for  growth  of  the  fungus  on  dextrose-potato 
agar  is  about  11°  C.,  the  optimal,  between  20°  and  26°,  and  the  maximal, 
about  31°  C. 

Conidia  are  not  produced  readily  in  culture,  but  are  obtained  abundantly 
upon  the  transfer  of  suitable  fragments  of  cultures  fr-om  a dry  to  a very 
moist  atmosphere. 

Conidia  germinate  readily  in  sterile  distilled  water  and  on  nutrient  media, 
and  secondary  conidia  are  often  budded  off. 

Ascospores  on  cultural  media  germinate  usually  by  the  production  of 
five  to  seven  conidia,  which  in  turn  produce  germ  tubes. 

The  period  of  incubation  on  the  canes  has  been  shown  by  inoculations 
and  observations  to  be  from  three  to  nine  days. 

The  disease  first  appears  on  the  young  growing  canes  and  leaves  in  the 
early  spring,  usually  when  the  canes  are  eight  to  ten  inches  high,  which 
has  been  between  May  13  and  May  20  during  the  last  four  seasons  at  Madi- 
son, Wisconsin. 

The  lesions  continue  to  increase  in  number  on  the  young  growing  tissue 
throughout  early  summer,  and  as  the  plants  cease  growth  during  July 
resistance  to  .the  disease  is  developed. 

Ascospores  and  conidia  form  the  source  of  natural  inoculum  in  the 
spring  and  early  summer. 

Ascospores,  which  are  forcibly  ejected  from  the  asci,  may  be  carried  by 
the  wind  for  a distance  of  at  least  one-half  mile  from  old  plantings  and 
cause  infection  in  new  plantings. 

Good  cultural  practices  during  the  growing  season  are  advisable.  Weeds 
should  be  kept  in  check,  as  they  increase  the  humidity  around  the  canes. 

In  making  new  plantings  care  should  be  taken  to  remove  the  old  canes 
from  the  young  plant  roots,  thereby  eliminating  a possible  source  of  in- 
oculum. 


Anthracnose  of  Cane  Fruits 


25 


During  the  seasons  of  1920,  1921  and  1922  anthracnose  on  black 
raspberries  was  satisfactorily  controlled  by  spraying,  lime-sulfur  giving 
somewhat  better  results  than  Bordeaux  mixture. 

Only  one  application  of  spray,  about  one  week  before  blooming,  failed 
to  control  the  disease  in  any  case. 

The  use  of  a spray  after  blooming  increased  the  effectiveness  of  lime- 
sulfur  and  Bordeaux  mixture  in  controlling  the  disease.  Injury  to  the 
foliage  from  this  spray  application  was  sufficient,  however,  to  preclude  its 
use. 

The  results  indicate  that  fair  control  may  be  obtained  by  applying  only 
the  delayed-dormant  spray  each  year,  using  lime-sulfur,  alone  or  with  glue 
or  gelatin  as  a spreader,  or  Bordeaux  mixture  with  calcium  caseinate  or 
gelatin  as  a spreader. 

The  use  of  spreaders  increased  the  effectiveness  of  the  sprays,  especially 
in  seasons  of  abundant  infection.  Glue  and  gelatin  gave  the  best  results 
with  lime-sulfur ; gelatin  and  calcium  caseinate,  with  Bordeaux  mixture. 
It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether  the  use  of  these  spreaders  is  warranted 
when  careful  spraying  is  done. 

To  control  anthracnose  on  black  raspberries  under  Wisconsin  climatic 
conditions  it  is  recommended  that  two  applications  of  spray  be  made  each 

season  as  follows:  (1)  after  a few  leaves  have  unfolded  in  the  spring 

(Plate  IV,  A 1),  using  lime-sulfur,  1-10;  and  (2)  about  one  week  before 
the  blooming  period  of  the  plants,  using  lime-sulfur,  1-40. 

LITERATURE  CITED 

Burrill,  T.  J. 

1882  Blackberry  and  raspbern^  canerust  (Anthracnose).  Agr.  Rev. 
24  : 89-92. 

Scribner,  F.  L. 

1888  Anthracnose  of  the  raspberry  and  blackberry.  U.  S.  Dept. 

Agr.  Rept.  1887  : 357-361. 

Goff,  E.  S. 

1891  Experiments  in  the  treatment  of  the  Septoria  of  the  rasp- 

berry and  blackberry.  Jour.  Myc.  7 : 22-23. 

Stoneman,  Bertha 

1898  A comparative  study  of  the  development  of  some  anthracnoses. 
Bot.  Gaz.  26  : 69-120. 

Longyear,  B.  O. 

1904  Fungous  diseases  of  fruits  in  Michigan.  Mich.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta. 
Sp.  Bui.  25  : 1-68. 

Lawrence,  W.  H. 

1910  Anthracnose  of  the  blackberry  and  raspberry.  Wash.  Agr.  Exp. 
Sta.  Bui.  97  : 1-18. 

Jackson,  H.  S. 

1913  Diseases  of  small  fruits.  Ore.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bien.  Crop  Pest 
Rept.  1911-12  : 261-270. 


26 


Research  Bulletin  59 


Lecomte,  Antoine  ' 

1913  Contribution  a la  recherche  d’une  bonne  bouillie  mouillante. 
Rev.  Vit.  401027  : 225-228. 

Keitt,  G.  W. 

1915  Simple  technique  for  isolating  single-spore  strains  of  certain 
types  of  fungi.  Phytopath.  5 : 266-269. 

Burkholder,  W.  H. 

1917  The  anthracnose  disease  of  the  raspberry  and  related  plants. 
Cornell  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  395  : 155-183. 

Cook,  M.  T. 

1918  Common  diseases  of  berries.  N.  J.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Cir.  88  : 
1-12. 

Dutton,  W.  C. 

1918  Spraying  to  control  anthracnose  on  black  raspberries.  Mich. 
Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Sp.  Bui.  88  : 1-8. 

Anmerson,  H.  W. 

1920  Diseases  of  Illinois  fruits.  111.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Cir.  241  : 1-155. 
Jones,  L.  K. 

1920  Diseases  and  insect  injuries  of  cane  fruits  in  Wisconsin,  1919. 
Wis.  State  Dept.  Agr.  Bui.  33  : 149-157. 

Swartwout,  H.  G. 

1921  Small  fruit  growing  in  Missouri.  ..  Mo.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui. 
184  : 1-27. 

Jones.  L.  K. 

1922  A preliminary  report  on  the  control  of  raspberry  anthracnose. 
Phytopath.  12  : 57-58. 

Jones,  L.  K.,  and  Vaughan,  R.  E. 

1923  Control  anthracnose  on  black  raspberries.  Wis.  Agr.  Exp. 
Sta.  Cir.  159  : 1-4. 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  STAFF 


E.  A.  Birge,  President  of  the  Univer- 

sity 

H.  L.  Russell,  Dean  and  Director 

F.  B.  Morrison,  Asst.  Dir.  Exp.  Sta- 
tion 


W.  A.  Henry,  Emeritus  Agriculture 
S.  M.  Babcock,  Emeritus  Agr.  Chem- 
istry   

A.  S.  Alexander,  Veterinary  Science 
F.  A.  Aust,  Horticulture 

B.  A.  Beach,  Veterinary  Science 
R.  A.  Brink,  Genetics 

L.  J.  Cole,  In  charge  of  Genetics 
May  Cowles,  Home  Economics 

E.  J.  Delwiche,  Agronomy  (Ashland) 
J.  G.  Dickson,  Plant  Pathology 
Bernice  Dodge,  Home  Economics 

J.  S.  Donald,  Agricultural  Econom- 
ics 

F.  W.  Duffee,  Agr.  Engineering 
J.  M.  Fargo,  Animal  Husbandry 

E.  H.  Farrington,  In  charge  of  Dairy 
Husbandry 

C.  L.  Fluke,  Economic  Entomology 
E.  B.  Fred,  Agr.  Bacteriology 

W.  D.  Frost,  Agr.  Bacteriology 
J.  G.  Fuller,  Animal  Husbandry 
W.  J.  Geib,  Soils 
E.  M.  Gilbert,  Plant  Pathology 
L.  F.  Graber,  Agronomy 

E.  J.  Graul,  Soils 

F.  B.  Hadley,  In  charge  of  Veterin- 

ary Science 

J.  G.  Halpin,  In  charge  of  Poultry 
Husbandry 

E.  B.  Hart,  In  charge  of  Agr.  Chem- 
istry 

E.  G.  Hastings,  In  charge  of  Agr. 

Bacteriology 
C.  S.  Hean,  Librarian 
B.  H.  Hibbard,  In  charge  of  Agr. 
Economics 

A.  W.  Hopkins,  Editor,  in  charge  of 

Agr.  Journalism 

R.  S.  Hulce,  Animal  Husbandry 

G.  C.  Humphrey,  In  charge  of  Animal 

Husbandry 

J.  A.  James,  In  charge  of  Agr.  Educa- 
tion 

J.  Johnson,  Horticulture 

E.  R.  Jones,  In  charge  of  Agr.  Engi- 

neering 

L.  R.  Jones,  In  charge  of  Plant  Path- 
ology 

G.  W.  Keitt,  Plant  Pathology 

F.  Kleinheinz,  Animal  Husbandry 
J.  H.  Kolb,  Economics 

B.  D.  Leith,  Agronomy 

T.  Macklin,  Agr.  Economics 
Abby  L.  Marlatt,  In  charge  of  Home 
Economics 

P-  E.  McNall,  Agr.  Economics 
J.  G.  Milward,  Horticulture 
J.  G.  Moore,  In  charge  of  Horticul- 
ture 

Moore, -In  charge  of  Agronomy 
£,•  E*  Morrison,  Animal  Husbandry 

G.  B.  Mortimer,  Agronomy 

F.  L.  Musbach.  Soils  (Marshfield) 
Helen  T.  Parsons,  Home  Economics 
W.  H.  Peterson,  Agr.  Chemistry 
Griffith  Richards,  Soils 
R.  H Roberts,  Horticulture 
•y  o Sammis,  Dairy  Husbandry 
u tt  o VAGE>  Animal  Husbandry 

H.  H.  Sommer,  Dairy  Husbandry 


J.  A.  James,  Asst.  Dean 

K.  L.  Hatch,  Asst.  Dir.  Agr.  Exten- 

sion Service 


H.  Steenbock,  Agr.  Chemistry 
H.  W.  Stewart,  Soils 
A.  L.  Stone,  Agronomy 
W.  A Sumner,  Agr.  Journalism 
J.  Swenehart,  Agr.  Engineering 
W.  E.  Tottingham,  Agr.  Chemistry 
E.  Truog,  Soils 

R.  E.  Vaughan,  PlantPathology 

H.  F.  Wilson  In  charge  of  Economic 
Entomology 

A.  R.  Whitson,  In  charge  of  Soils 
A.  H.  Wright,  Agronomy 
W.  H.  Wright,  Agr.  Bacteriology 
0.  R.  Zeasman,  Agr.  Engineering  and 
Soils 


A.  R.  Albert,  Soils 
H.  W.  Albertz,  Agronomy 
Freda  M.  Bachmann,  Agr.  Bacteriology 
Ann  G.  Braun,  Home  Economics 
Olive  Cooper,  Home  Economics 
Ellen  H.  Craighill,  Home  Econom- 
ics 

W.  H.  Ebling,  Assistant  to  the  IDean 
N.  S.  Fish,  Agr.  Engineering 
W.  C.  Frazier,  Agr.  Bacteriology 
A.  A.  Granovsky,  Economic  Ento- 
mology 

A.  J.  Haas,  Executive  Secretary 

R.  T.  Harris,  Dairy  Tests 
E.  D.  Holden,  Agronomy 

C.  A.  Hoppert,  Agr.  Chemistry 
L.  K.  Jones,  Plant  Pathology 
Alcie  Kinslow,  Home  Economics 
C.  Kuehner,  Horticulture 
Clifford  Lamp  man,  Poultry  Husbandry 
Grace  Langdon,  Agr.  Journalism 
Samuel  Lepkovsky,  Agr.  Chemistry 
V.  G.  Mtlum.  Economic  Entomology 
Marianna  T.  Nelson,  Agr.  Chemistry 
G.  T.  Nightingale,  Horticulture 
Eva  Schairer,  Home  Economics 

S.  D.  Sims,  Animal  Husbandry 
R.  B.  Streets,  Plant  Pathology 
L.  C.  Thomsen,  Dairy  Husbandry 

L.  P.  Whitehead,  Economic  Ento- 

mology 

M.  Wood  (Mrs.),  Home  Economics 


Geo.  Arbuthnot,  Agr.  Engineering 
Archie  Black,  Agr.  Chemistry 
Conrad  Elvehjem,  Agr.  Chemistry 
Edith  Haynes,  Agr.  Bacterioogy 
O.  N.  Johnson,  Poutry  Husbandry 
J.  H.  Jones,  Agr.  Chemistry 
Ruth  Myrland,  Asst,  to  Director  of 
Home  Ecenomics 
E.  G.  Schmidt,  Agr.  Chemistry 
M.  E.  Smith,  Inst.  Administration 
D.  G.  Steele,  Genetics 
Henry  Stevens,  Genetics 
Frances  W.  Streets,  Plant  Path- 
ology 

M.  N.  Walker,  Plant  Pathology 


Memoranda 


Research  Bulletin  60 


June,  1924 

, ^ 


t « w* 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


A Study  of  the  Origin  and  Development 
of  Religious  Groups 


J.  H.  KOLB  and  C.  J.  BORNMAN 


/ 


AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  WISCONSIN  AND  UNITED  STATES  DEPARTMENT 
OF  AGRICULTURE  CO-OPERATING 


MADISON 


Present  Outlines  of  Religious  Organization 

Complex  Nature  of  Religious  Organization;  Dane  County  Repre- 
sentative; Religious  Bodies  Enumerated  and  Major  Groupings  Outlined; 
Distribution  and  Location  of  Churches  and  Membership;  The  Parishes 
Mapped;  Methods  of  Study  Detailed. 

Social  History  of  the  Religious  Groups 

The  Streams  of  Early  Settlement 

The  Original  Sources  of  the  Groups  and  Their  General  Distribution 
in  the  County. 

The  Lutheran  Stream 

The  English,  German,  and  Norwegian  Lutherans  Together  with 
Integrating  Movements. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Stream 

Father  Inama’s  Colonization  Project  in  Roxbury  Township;  The 
European  Origins  and  Recent  Rural  Life  Emphasis. 

The  “Reformed”  Stream 

A brief  sketch  of  11  bodies  represented  in  the  county.  National 
Federation  Movements  among  these  “Reformed”  Bodies. 

The  Streams  Flow  Together 

The  groups  have  been  spread  out  together  over  the  whole  county. 

Tendencies  and  Problems  of  Readjustment 

Organisation  T endencies 

Present  Organization  of  Parishes : Open-Country  Parishes  and  Neigh- 
borhood Groups  Compared : Village  Parishes  and  the  Trade  Area ; Rela- 
tion Between  Open-Country  and  Village  Parishes;  The  Church  Mem- 
bership; Size  of  Congregations;  The  County's  Clergy;  Location  of  the 
Churches  and  their  Circuit  Arrangements. 

Problems  in  Readjustment 

Abandoned  Churches;  Over-lapping  Parishes;  Unchurched  Territory; 
The  Non-resident  Clergy;  Nationality  and  Language  Factors. 

The  Future  in  Rural  Religious  Organization 

Strategic  Location  of  Churches ; The  Principle  of  “Sufficient  Volume 
of  Business”;  Over-churched  and  Under-churched  Territory;  Absentee 
and  Migratory  Pastors;  the  Language  Question;  Need  for  a State-Wide 
Consciousness. 


Rural  Religious  Organization 

PRESENT  OUTLINES  OF  RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATION 

A VAGUE  IDEA  often  prevails  that  present-day  divisions,  dupli- 
cation, overlapping  and  lack  of  co-ordination  in  rural  religious 
organization  are  caused  by  denominational  rivalry.  This  is 
only  a partial  explanation  and,  by  no  means,  the  main  reason.  The 
complex  and  seemingly  conglomerate  nature  of  such  modern  or- 
ganization is  the  result  of  historical  and  sociological  processes.  The 
religion  of  people  is  usually  a social  heritage.  They  hold  to  its  various 
forms  not  ordinarily  as  a matter  of  persuasion  but  more  often  by  force 
of  inherited  custom  and  tradition. 

Complex  Nature  of  Religious  Organizations. — This  study  is  an  at- 
tempt to  shed  some  light  on  the  present-day  complexity  of  rural  re- 
ligious organization,  the  term  “religious  organization”  being  used  as  a 
designaton  for  the  whole  network  of  activity  and  influence  of  various 
religious  bodies  over  a given  area.  The  endeavor  is  to  show,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  religious  organization  in  this  larger  and  more  general 
sense,  how  things  came  to  be  as  the}'  are  and  to  indicate  and  discuss 
some  of  the  problems  that  have  thus  arisen.  In  a research  project  of 
this  sort,  there  is,  of  course,  no  thought  of  discussing  any  purely  re- 
ligious question  or  of  setting  forth  any  special  program  for  action.  The 
purpose  is  simply  to  present  in  as  clear  a manner  as  possible,  the 
facts  and  conditions  found  in  this  Wisconsin  county,  among  the  re- 
ligious groups  and  to  outline  the  factors  which  lie  back  of  this 
present  day  group  life.  A system  of  careful  group  analysis,  it  is  there- 
fore believed,  will  most  readil}'  accomplish  this  purpose. 

The  settlers  of  Dane  County,  Wisconsin,  for  example,  coming  from 
the  eastern  states  and  from  the  countries  and  provinces  of  Europe, 
brought  their  religious  beliefs  and  practices  with  them.  These  beliefs 
and  practices  were  as  varied  and  different  as  those  of  the  several 
states  and  countries  from  which  they  came.  The  establishment  of 
churches  in  this  county  meant  the  transplanting  of  an  Eastern  or 
European  institution  into  what  was  often  an  entirely  different 
social  and  economic  environment.  These  organizations  are  still 
in  the  midst  of  difficulties  and  problems  attendant  upon  their 
readjustments  to  this  different  and  constantly  changing  environment. 
The  result  of  all  this  is  a complicated  and  diversified  growth,  as  the 
almost  indistinguishable  lines  on  the  laboratory  map,  Fig.  I,  indicate. 
The  roots  of  this  growth  must  be  traced  in  their  ramifications  not  only 
to  the  churches  of  the  early  settlers  and  settlements,  but  also  back 
to  the  various  sectional  camps  into  which  Christianity  divided  itself 

C.  J.  Bornman  received  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  from  the  University 
of  Wisconsin  in  June,  1922,  having  done  his  major  work  in  the  Department 
of  Agricultural  Economics.  He  is  now'  the  superintendent  of  a rural  demon- 
stration center  at  Pittman  Center  (Sevierville,  P.  O.)  Tennessee. 


2 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


Fig.  1. — Church  Parish  Map  Showing  Location  of  Churches,  Parishes 
and  Circuit  Lines  for  All  the  Groups 

at  the  time  of  and  following  the  Reformation,  when  theological  id  rife 
was  bitter  and  the  newly  acquired  freedom  of  religious  thought  oc- 
casioned the  rise  of  many  and  diverse  churches  and  sects. 

Dane  County  Is  Representative — Dane  County  is  situated  in  the 
south-central  portion  of  Wisconsin  and  comprises  an  area  equal  to 
twice  the  size  of  the  ordinary  county.  For  the  purposes  of  this  study 
the  city  of  Madison  is  excluded.  According  to  the  Federal  census  of 
1920,  the  area  studied  had  a population  of  51,120.  This  county  gives  a 
fairly  accurate  picture  of  rural  religious  organization,  not  only  in 
Wisconsin  but  also  in  the  Middle-West,  particularly  in  those  parts 
where  the  new  American  element  is  predominant  and  in  those  other 
sections  of  the  country  where  settlement  took  place  in  groups. 

Religious  Bodies  Enumerated — Seventeen  different  constituent  re- 
ligious bodies  of  the  216  in  the  United  States  are  represented  in  the 
county.  There  are  117  different  religious  organizations,  as  shown  in 
Table  I.  This  classification  follows  that  used  by  the  Federal  Census 
Bureau.  These  organizations  are  served  by  80  ministers  and  have  a 
combined  communicant  membership  of  21.504.1 

The  Major  Groupings — For  purposes  of  the  study,  certain  definite 
major  groupings,  or  families  of  religious  bodies,  namely,  the  Lutheran, 

communicant  member  is  a person  on  the  church  roll,  usually  over  13 
years  of  age,  who  enjoys  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  oiganization. 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


3 


Table  I. — Church  Organizations,  Ministers,  and  Communicant  Members  by 
Denominational  Groups.* 


Constituent  bodies 

Number 
of  organi- 
zations 

Number 

pastors 

Number 
of  mem- 
bers 

117 

80 

21 ,504 

Adventist  bodies 

Seventh-Day  Adventist 

1 

2 

1 

2 

17 

Baptist  bodies 

Baptists 

200 

Seventh-Day  Baptists 

1 

j 

180 

Congregational  Churches 

7 

5 

507 

Lutheran  bodies 

United  Lutheran 

3 

2 

290 

Synodical  Conference 

4 

4 

530 

Norwegian  Lutheran 

27 

15 

8,919 

860 

Joint  Synod  of  Ohio 

7 

3 

Iowa  Synod 

6 

4 

619 

Methodist  bodies 

Methodist  Episcopal 

22 

16 

1,573 

57 

Primitive  Methodist 

1 

2 

1 

Moravian  Church  (Unitas  Fratrum) 

2 . 

251 

Presbyterian  Church  in  U.  S.  A 

6 

5 

371 

Protestant  Episcopal 

1 

1 

37 

Reformed  Church  in  U.  S 

4 

2 

453 

Roman  Catholic  Church 

22 

16 

6,590 

Universalists 

0 

50 

*City  of  Madison  is  not  included. 


Table  II. — Churches  by  Major  Groupings,  Constituent  Bodies 
and  Location* 


Location  of  Churches 


Groupings 


Total 


Lutheran  bodies 


Roman  Catholic 


“Reformed” 

bodies 


Constituent 

bodies 


Total 


Total, 


United  Lutheran 

Synod  Conference 

Norwegian  Lutheran 

Joint  Ohio 

Iowa  Synod 


Total 


117 


47 


3 

4 
27 

7 

6 


22 


Total 


48 


Seventh  Day  Adven- 
tist  

Baptist 

Seventh  Day  Bap- 
tist  

Congregational 

church 

Methodist  Episcopal.. 
Primitive  Methodist.. 

Moravian 

Presbyterian 

Protestant  Episcopal 
Reformed  Church  in 

United  States 

Universalist 


1 

2 

1 


22 

1 

2 

6 

1 

4 

1 


Vil- 

Ham- 

Open 

City 

lage 

let 

country 

10 

49 

19 

39 

4 

17 

4 

22 

3 

3 

1 

4 

6 

4 

13 

2 

5 

3 

0 

3 

1 

12 

1 

8 

5 

22 

12 

9 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

3 

3 

2 

13 

1 

6 

1 

1 

1 

4 

1 

1 

1 

2 

2 

1 

No  towns  in  county  of  2,501  to  5,000  population. 


4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


the  Roman  Catholic  and  the  “Reformed”2,  have  been  followed.  The 
constituent  bodies  of  a family,  however,  are  not  to  be  regarded  as 
necessarily  having  any  organic  or  corporate  union.  Tables  II  and  III 
show  the  constituent  bodies  in  each  major  grouping,  or  family,  as 
they  were  found  in  the  county. 

Distribution  and  Location  of  Churches  and  Membership — A summary 
of  the  number  of  churches  in  each  major  grouping  is  found  in  Table 
II.  It  shows  their  location,  whether  in  city,  town,  village,  hamlet, 
or  open  country,  giving  also  the  totals  for  all  the  churches  and  for 
each  major  grouping.3 


Table  III.— Communicant  Members  by  Major  Groupings,  Constituent 
Bodies,  and  Location* 


Groupings 

Constituent 

bodies 

Locati 

ion  of  communicant  members 

Total 

City 

Vil- 

lage 

Ham- 

let 

Open 

country 

Total 

21 ,504 

3,167 

9,662 

1 ,449 

7,226 

Total 

11,218 

2,489 

3,342 

499 

4,888 

United  Lutheran 

290 

290 

Lutheran  bodies 

Synod  Conference 

530 

390 

140 

Norwegian  Lutheran.. 
Joint  Ohio 

8,919 

860 

2,489 

2,003 

450 

499 

3,928 

410 

Iowa  Synod 

619 

209 

410 

Roman  Catholic 

Total 

6,590 

203 

4,283 

80 

2,024 

Total 

3,696 

475 

2,037 

870 

314 

Seventh  Day  Adven- 
tist  

17 

17 

“Reformed” 

Baptist 

200 

100 

100 

bodies 

Seventh  Das'-  Baptist 
Congregational 

180 

180 

507 

75 

297 

135 

Methodist  Episcopal.. 
Primitive  Methodist.. 

1 ,573 
57 

250 

1 ,098 

50 

175 

57 

Moravian 

251 

169 

82 

Presbyterian  Church 
in  U.  S.  A. 

371 

248 

123 

Protestant  Episcopal 
Reformed  Church  in 
U.  S 

37 

37 

453 

240 

213 

U niversalist 

50 

50 

*No  towns  of  2,501  to  5,000  population  in  county. 


Similarly  Table  III  presents  a total  communicant  membership  for 
each  major  grouping,  the  total  number  belonging  to  city,  town,  village, 
hamlet,  or  open  country  churches,  as  well  as  the  totals  for  each  major 
grouping.  This  compilation  indicates  that  of  a total  of  47  Lutheran 
churches,  4 are  located  in  cities,  17  in  villages,  4 in  hamlets,  and  22  in 
the  open  country,  having  a total  membership  of  11,218,  of  which  2,489 
belong  to  city  churches,  3,342  to  village,  499  to  hamlet,  and  4,888  to 


2The  term  “Reformed”  is  not  used  in  its  narrow  or  sectional  sense  but  in 
its  historic  and  general  sense,  designating  practically  all  the  non-Lutheran 
Protestant  bodies. 

3The  definition  of  city,  town,  village  and  hamlet  adopted  follows  that  of 
the  Committee  on  Social  and  Religious  Surveys  of  New  York  City,  namely: 
Hamlet— 0 to  250;  village— 251  to  2500;  town— 2501  to  5000;  city— 5001  and 

over. 


Rural  Religions  Organization 


5 


Ohio 

rlAiixviu.i 


Oh  toj 


PRirmott 


open  country.  Of  tF  22  Roman  Catholic  Churches,  1 is  located  in  a 
city,  12  in  villages,  1 in  hamlets,  and  8 in  the  open  country.  These  22 
churches  have  6,5^  members,  distributed  as  follows : City,  203 ; 

village,  4,283 ; hantet,  80 ; open  country,  2,024.  The  “Reformed”  bodies 
have  48  churche>  in  the  county.  Of  these  5 are  in  the  cities,  22  in 
villages,  12  in  lamlets,  and  9 in  the  open  country.  Their  combined 
membership  i 3,696.  Of  these  475  are  found  in  city  churches,  2,037 
in  villages,  81)  in  hamlets,  314  in  the  open  country. 

The  Parioes  Mapped — In  order  to  measure  the  area  of  influence  of 
each  religious  organization  and  to  indicate  this  graphically  on  a map, 
Figures  2 to  7 inclusive,  present  the  Lutheran,  the  Roman  Catholic  and 

3awm  City 


! 

J 

Parish 

0§  * 

Boundaries 

1 

1 

Overlapping 

j 

Parishes 

{ 

O O 

Circuit  Lines 

I 

O Church 

_ Pastor's 

x Residence 

SJ»rcl 

Church  with 

. » 

$ Resident 

Pastor 

.'  I 

A ABANDONED 

•.  *.  • i ~ :V.;vVV-::::-:: : m 

■■'o  : " • 

9 Church 

iPtRRY 


Fig.  2. — Lutheran  Churches,  Parishes  and  Circuit  Lines  of  Western 

Dane  County 


6 


Wisconsin  .Research  Bulletin  60 


NinXl 

DEFOREST  ' 


S.BRISTOI 


Sufi  Prairfe 


MARSHALL 


PUNKIN 

Hollow 


Sugar' 

Bosh' 


'Dexrfieu 


Deerfield! 


[CAMSRIDGI 


rARLANO 


«<-»SHKOnONCj 


OUGHTOI 


rw 

I 

m 

Norway  ? 

I ■ t 

Parish 

Boundaries 

mmxmm 

Overlapping 

Parishes 

O O 

Circuit  Lines 
O Church 
* Pastor's 
Residence 
Church  with 
$ Resident 
Pastor 
0 Abandoned 


CHURCH 


Fig.  3. — Lutheran  Churches,  Parishes 


and  Circuit  Lines  of  Eastern 


Dane  County 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


7 


SAimCrrr 


Dane 


Roxbury, 


MAZO  MANIC 


WaUNAI  EE 


Marti  isvillei 


Ashton 


cross^ 

PLAINS 


MlDDLETOl 


Pine  Bluff 


VERONi 


Belleville 


Brooklyn 


Parish 
Boundaries 

Overlapping 

Parishes 

O— -o 

Circuit  Lines 
O Church 
v Pastor  s 
Residence 
Church  mth 
0 Resident 
Pastor 
m Abandoned 
w Church 


VERMONT 


-[ 


Oregon 


Fig.  4. — Catholic  Churches,  Parishes  and  Circuit  Lines  for  Western 

Dane  County 


8 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


East  Bristol 


marshall 


Son  Prairie 


l WEST  PORT 


COTTAGE y 
GRO^E 


IOregom 


I 1 ^TOUftl 


£df*rto* 


STONEtHURCH 

Porter  Township 


Parish 

Boundaries 


mmmm 


Overlapping 
Parishes 
O O 


Circuit  Lines 
O Church 
* Pastor's 
Residence 
Church  with 
Resident 
Pastor 
M Abandoned 
9 Church 


Fig.  5. — Catholic  Churches,  Parishes  and  Circuit  Lines  for  Eastern 

Dane  County 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


9 


Prairitm 

\ 

5a ut\  » 


Mounds 

•Creek” 


glACK.1 

.vJa  fm* 


Cross  Plains 


VERONi 


Mt  VernoI 


Paoli 


ORE&ON1 


•EU.EVU.LE 


Parish 

Boundaries 

Overlapping 

Parishes 

o O 

Circuit  lines 
O Church 
Pastor's 
Residence 
Church  with 
Resident 
'AST  or 
RAN  DO  NED 
HURCH 


Fig.  6. — “Reformed”  Churches,  Parishes  and  Circuit  Lines  for  Western 

Dane  County 


10 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


CoLurravs 


I Waters 


I Sufi^  Prairie 


MoRav  i 


iRL'ANO 


IEQ®BAPr. 

JQCohc. 


Oregon! 


sroutHfo! 


#U  6 

k0r  ooA  tun 


Edqtrt  o> 


Parish  \ 
Boundaries 


OVERLAPPT 

Parishes 


Circuit  L/NES& 
O Church 
* Pastor's 
Residence 
Church  with 
0 Resident 
Pastor 
m abandoned 
w Church 


Fig.  7. — “Reformed”  Churches,  Parishes  and  Circuit  Lines  for 
Eastern  Dane  County 


Rural  RELiqous  Organization  11 

the  "Reformed”  parish  maps,  lye  parish  boundaries  enclose  the  area 
within  which  practically  all  th^  members  of  a given  church  reside. 
For  the  sake  of  clearness,  they  Are  shown  on  three  different  maps  ac- 
cording to  the  major  groupings.  The  cross-hatching  on  the  maps  in- 
dicates overlapping  areas  or  small  Parishes  within  larger  ones. 

The  Methods  of  Study  Employtd — A careful  and  rather  extended 
personal  visitation  and  study  was  made  right  out  in  the  field  of  every 
church  in  the  county,  excepting  thoie  within  the  city  limits  of  Madi- 
son. Pastors  and  responsible  laymen  were  interviewed  and  schedules 
for  each  church  and  its  parish  wert  secured.  By  use  of  detailed 
township  plat  books  showing  the  locations  of  all  the  farms,  the 
parishes  were  laid  out  during  the  course  of  these  interviews  and 
then  later  mapped  in  the  laboratory.  All  manner  of  local  histories, 
periodical  publications,  and  documents,  as  well  as  local  and  general 
church  histories  were  used  in  forging  out  the  life  stories  of  the 
various  religious  groups  represented  by  congregations  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  county. 

The  parish  schedule  covered  the  following  items  of  inquiry : Name  of 
church ; location  of  church ; location  of  parsonage ; name  and  address 
of  pastor ; years  service  in  this  church ; official  name  of  denomination ; 
nationality  or  national  extraction  of  members ; frequency  of  services ; 
language  of  services ; number  of  communicant  members  ; and  remarks. 


SOCIAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  GROUPS 


“Of  what  national  extraction  is  yorr  church  membership?”  was  one 
of  the  questions  in  the  original  schedule.  With  surprising  readiness 
one  pastor  answered : “My  people  are  Rhinelander  Germans.”  And 

then  with  pride  he  turned  to  a la'ge  township  plat  map  hanging  on 
the  wall  of  the  parish  reception  joom  and  indicated  the  farms  upon 
which  his  people  had  settled  and  grown  comparatively  well-to-do.  He 
described  the  extent  of  his  parish  which  consisted  of  a rather  com- 
pactly settled  group  of  people,  who  themselves  or  whose  antecedents 
had  come  from  the  same  general  locality  in  Europe.  Although 
throughout  the  entire  county  a comparatively  small  proportion  of 
people  could  be  found  who  are  not  American  citizens,  either  native 
born  or  naturalized,  yet  whenever  this  question  of  racial  history  was 
pressed  there  were  usually  similar  and  read}"  answers  as  “Bohemian”, 
“Yankee”,  “Swiss”,  or  Scotch”.  Generally  such  parishes  were  found 
to  consist  of  a group  with  a common  social  history  which  could  be 
traced,  if  not  to  the  exact,  then  to  the  same  general  locality  in  the 
eastern  states,  or  to  a similar  section  or  province  in  Europe. 

The  Streams  of  Early  Settlement 

It  may  seem  somewhat  artificial  and  perhaps  not  always  absolutely 
accurate  but  for  purposes  of  clearness  the  various  streams  of  popula- 
tion according  to  their  religious  affiliation  will  be  traced  back  to  their 
sources  or  reservoirs  in  Europe  or  the  eastern  states.  The  answers 
to  the  inquiry  as  to  the  racial  history  of  the  various  religious  groups 


Fig.  8. — The  Streams  from  Europe  and  the  Eastern  States  to  Dane 
County,  Wisconsin 


Rural  Religious  Organization,' 


13 


have  been  summarized  in  Table  IV.  This  table  together  with  the  facts 
of  European  and  American  church  history  make  it  possible  to  con- 
struct a map,  Fig.  8,  showing  graphically  the  various  streams  of  popula- 
tion according  to  religious  affiliation  that  were  to  distribute  them- 
selves over  Dane  County. 

The  Original  Sources  of  the  Groups — The  correlation  between 
nationality  and  religious  affiliation  is  shown  by  Table  IV.  This 
correlation  agrees  with  the  facts  of  church  history,  for  it  will  be  re- 
membered that  with  the  Reformation  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
Western  Christianity  was  separated  into  two  grand  divisions,  namely, 
Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant  or  Evangelical  Christianity.  This  is 
shown  very  clearly  in  Chart  I.  In  studying  this  chart  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  the  various  Protestant  confessional  groups  while 
separate,  were  very  often  strongly  influenced  by  one  another.  For  ex- 
ample, while  it  is  possible  to  trace  the  Moravians  back  to  the 
Waldensian  movement,  of  the  twelfth  century,  the  strongest  impetus 
was  given  to  their  movement  by  John  Huss  in  1415,  and  later  at  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  two  Lutherans,  Zinzendorf  and 
Spangenberg  resuscitated  this  church  and  largely  determined  its  career 
to  the  present  day.  Likewise,  the  Baptists  have  been  influenced 
strongly  by  Calvinism,  the  Anglicans  by  Roman  Catholics,  Methodists 
by  Moravians  and  Congregationalists  by  Unitarians.  Protestantism,  in 
turn,  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation  itself,  parted  into  two  streams 
near  its  fountain  head,  that  is,  the  Lutheran  and  the  “Reformed.” 
While  the  cause  of  the  Lutheran  and  the  “Reformed”  movements  was 
a common  one,  they  were  in  reality  separate  and  distinct  and  each  had 
its  own  peculiar  genius.  There  are,  to  be  sure,  certain  marked  dif- 
ferences among  the  religious  bodies  comprising  the  Lutheran  family  of 
churches  as  well  as  among  those  of  the  “Reformed”  family.  Neverthe- 
less each  family  of  churches  has  certain  distinguishing  characteristics, 
many  of  which  have  been  retained  to  the  present  day.  These  are  the 
result  not  so  much,  perhaps,  of  original  differences  as  they  are  due  to 
the  fact  that  in  its  sweep  each  movement  conquered  different  sections 
of  Europe.  Church  and  state  being  so  closely  allied,  the  rulers  usually 
decided  the  forms  of  religion  for  their  subjects.  Each  movement 
stamped  its  individuality  upon  the  sections  thus  conquered.  Owing 
to  differences  in  race,  location,  temperament,  and  political  fortunes, 
certain  groups  in  turn  within  each  family  were  formed  each  having  a 
different  sectional  development.  Thus  it  is  that  there  are  in  Protestant- 
ism two  great  families  of  churches  the  Lutheran  and  the  “Reformed” 
and  within  each  of  these  families  numerous  smaller  bodies.  The  term 
“Reformed”  is  used  not  in  the  more  modern  and  narrower  sectional 
sense  but  in  its  historic  and  general  sense,  a usage  which  is  generally 
adopted  by  church  historians.4  The  Lutheran  comprises  those  churches 
which  bear  the  name  of  Luther,  while  the  “Reformed”  generally  de- 


♦Schaff,  Philip,  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Vol.  VII,  p.  11. 


14 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


Years 

1900 

1600 
1700 
1600 
1500 
1400 
13  00 
1200 
1100 
1000 
900 
600 
TOO 
GOO 
5 00 
400 
300 
ZOO 
100 


Roman  Catholic 
Old  Catholic 

Anglican  (Protestant  Episcopal) 
Catholic  Apostolic 

' Methodists  Lutheran 

Su/edenborgian 

Salvation 
Army 

Quaker 


ISZo 


1713 


1530 


1830 


1740. 


1870 


1670 


1789 


Congregationatist 

Christian  Centuries 


i42°. 


.Anabaptist,  Mennonite 
Baptist  Brethren 


Scientist 

1879  | 


Calvinist 

Zwinglian 

Socinian 
Unitarian 


1170 


1051 


‘Waldensian,  Bohemian,.  Moravian 

-Graeco -Russian  Orthodox 
Oriental  Orthodox 


550 


Syrian,  Coptic,  Abyssinian 

4iy ftr.men>Qn Nestorian 


43f 


CATHOLIC 


TTY 

WITT 

xxrr 

xm 

xx 

YTV 

TUT 

XU 

XL 

X 

IX 

VTTT 

mi 

XL 

X 

m 

UL 

re 

i 


Chart  I. — The  Confessional  Division  of  the  Churches  A.  D.  30  to  1911. 


notes  the  non-Lutheran  Protestant  churches.  Other  general  classifica- 
tions on  the  basis  of  liturgical  practices,  for  example,  could  no  doubt 
have  been  made  and  might  have  been  preferred  by  some.  It  is  also 
recognized  that  objection  blight  be  raised  to  the  classification  of  all 
non-Lutheran  bodies  as  “Reformed”.  Nevertheless  from  the  point  of 
view  of  historical  origin,  which  naturally  cannot  be  discussed  in  de- 
tail here,  there  are  many  good  reasons  for  adopting  this  classification, 
even  though  in  certain  respects  it  is  somewhat  arbitrary. 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


15 


Both  map,  Fig.  8,  and  Table  IV,  show  the  three  main  streams 
according  to  religious  affiliation  which  overflowed  from  the  various 
reservoirs  of  population  in  Europe  and  in  America.  The  Lutheran 
stream  was  supplied  by  strong  currents  from  Germany  and  Norway, 
both  of  which  countries  have  been  predominently  Lutheran  since  the 
Reformation  period.  In  Germany  the  Lutheran  population  elements 
usually  came  from  one  or  the  other  of  the  northern  states.  The  Roman 


Table  IV. — Nationality  or  National  Extraction  of  Church  Members 


Grouping 

Constituent 

bodies 

All 

Numb 

er  of  churches 

Ger- 

man 

Nor- 

we- 

gian 

Old 

Amer- 

can 

Eng- 

lish 

Scotch 

Swiss 

Irish 

French 

Mixed 

Total 

117 

32 

29 

16 

8 

4 

4 

4 

1 

19 

Lutheran 

bodies 

Total 

47 

19 

27 

1 

United 

Lutheran 

3 

4 

27 

7 

6 

3 

3 

Synod.  Con- 
ference  

1 

Norwegian 
Lutheran 

27 

Joint  Ohio 

7 

6 

Iowa  Synod 

Roman  Catholics 

22 

I 

-oc  | 

4 

1 

9 

“Reformed” 

bodies 

Total 

48 

5 

2 

16 

8 

4 

4 

9 

Seventh  Day 
Adventist .... 
Baptist 

1 

2 

1 

7 

22 

1 

2 

6 

1 

4 

1 

1 

2 

Seventh  Day 
Baptist 

1 

Congrega- 
tional  

4 

8 

1 

2 

4 

Methodist 
Episcopal  .... 
Primitive 
Methodist .... 
Moravian 

3 

'2 

5 

1 

2 

Presbyterian... 
Protestant 
Episcopal .... 
Reformed  in 
U.  S 

3 

3 

1 

4 

Universalist ... 

1 

Catholic  stream  was  supplied  by  tributaries  from  Germany,  usually 
the  Rhine  Valley  and  southern  German  states,  and  from  Bohemia, 
France,  and  Ireland.  These  countries  or  states  are  for  the  most  part 
Roman  Catholic  in  their  religious  affiliation.  The  “Reformed”  stream 
which  is  the  thinnest  of  these  three,  was  made  up  of  numerous  small 
rivulets  from  England,  Scotland,  Switzerland,  and  the  New  England 
States,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio.  Not  all  of  the  population 
elements  in  the  “Reformed”  church  groups,  however,  came  to  the 
county  with  this  stream  but  after  reaching  here  they  were  deflected 
or  thrown  off  from  the  Lutheran  stream.  These  elements  are  found 
in  such  groups  as  the  German  Methodist,  the  Evangelical  Association 


16 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


Table  V. — Nativity  of  Dane  County  for  the  Year  1870* 


State  or  Country  of  Birth 

Population 

Total 

53,096 

Native  Born 

Total 

33,456 

Wisconsin 

22,738 
4,820 
802 
932 
1 ,061 
314 
2,789 

New  York 

Ohio 

Pennsylvania 

Vermont 

Illinois 

All  others 

Foreign  Born 

Total 

19, *640 

British  America 

684 
1 ,631 
2,955 
465 
2 

6,276 

169 

6,601 

195 

216 

17 

131 

298 

England  and  Wales 

Ireland 

Scotland 

Great  Britain 

Germany 

France 

Sweden  and  Norway 

Bo  hem  ia 

Switzerland 

Holland 

Denmark 

All  others 

♦Ninth  Census  ol  the  United  States,  1870,  Population  and  Vital  Statistics,  p.  376. 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


17 


Table  VI. — Nationalities  of  Rural  Dane  County  (Distribution  by  Town- 
ships for  Years  1895-1905)* 


County  of  birth  and  years 


^Townships 

France 

Ger- 

Great 

Ireland 

Scandi- 

Switzer- 

ma 

ny 

Bril 

tain 

na1 

via 

land 

1895 

1905 

1895 

1905 

1895 

1905 

1895 

1905 

1895 

1905 

1895 

1905 

Total 

99 

57 

4037 

3028 

757 

498 

706 

511 

5886 

4699 

10 

344 

Albion 

1 

0 

45 

36 

51 

41 

12 

6 

275 

223 

0 

0 

Berry 

0 

0 

216 

117 

5 

3 

0 

0 

6 

4 

0 

1 

Black'*Earth 

0 

0 

26 

29 

60 

30 

18 

20 

0 

52 

0 

0 

Blooming  Grove 

0 

3 

127 

157 

2 

8 

9 

13 

86 

118 

0 

9 

Blue  Mounds 

0 

0 

74 

45 

13 

12 

18 

11 

326 

155 

0 

31 

Bristol  

3 

0 

156 

125 

1 

2 

4 

3 

113 

93 

0 

0 

Burke 

0 

0 

115 

74 

11 

7 

16 

8 

226 

196 

0 

5 

Christiana 

0 

0 

32 

18 

10 

11 

1 

857 

641 

0 

0 

Cottage  Grove 

0 

0 

84 

57 

13 

3! 

32 

15 

213 

174 

0 

5 

Cross  Plains 

0 

0 

189 

135 

17 

4 

32 

21 

9 

0 

0 

2 

Dane 

1 

0 

190 

116 

15 

5 

0 

6 

65 

8 

0 

0 

Deerfield 

0 

0 

196 

154 

12 

10 

9 

2 

322 

154 

0 

2 

Dunkirk 

0 

0 

14 

9 

29 

13 

42 

22 

466 

317 

0 

0 

Dunn 

0 

0 

19 

17 

20 

14 

11 

3 

265 

240 

0 

1 

Fitchburg 

0 

0 

33 

43 

20 

25 

58 

39 

55 

50 

0 

3 

Madison 

1 

1 

116 

108 

45 

44 

29 

19 

42 

37 

0 

6 

Mazomanie 

1 

0 

146 

122 

89 

61 

33 

32 

7 

4 

10 

4 

Medina 

0 

0 

290 

208 

31 

24 

21 

17 

31 

21 

0 

1 

Middleton 

0 

0 

389 

290 

31 

12 

i 16 

4 

0 

6 

0 

0 

Montrose  

65 

36 

60 

49 

36 

15 

23 

16 

53 

27 

0 

62 

Oregon 

7 

11 

18 

18 

19 

33 

55 

46 

119 

130 

0 

2 

Perry 

0 

0 

21 

12 

0 

0 

0 

0 

276 

240 

0 

41 

Primrose 

3 

1 

8 

6 

3 

4 

9 

5 

164 

115 

0 

57 

Pleasant  Springs 

0 

0 

2 

8 

6 

1 

0 

488 

471 

0 

0 

Roxbury 

0 

0 

194 

119 

1 

1 

5 

3 

1 

1 

0 

2 

Rutland 

0 

0 

12 

2 

33 

21 

13 

18 

309 

294 

0 

0 

Springdale 

0 

0 

37 

32 

15 

9 

14 

11 

168 

95 

0 

54 

Springfield 

0 

0 

222 

137 

3 

0 

1 

1 

1 

5 

0 

0 

Sun  Prairie 

1 

1 

228 

163 

16 

10 

36 

33 

170 

45 

0 

2 

Verona 

3 

0 

120 

143 

50 

22 

20 

30 

7 

73 

0 

25 

Vermont 

0 

0 

43 

9 

6 

0 

38 

19 

151 

100 

0 

12 

Vienna 

0 

0 

80 

58 

28 

9 

4 

1 

245 

184 

0 

3 

Westport 

12 

4 

230 

147 

37 

26 

109 

73 

1 110 

139 

0 

14 

Windsor 

1 

0 

147 

122 

17 

10 

9 

8 

! 260 

287 

0 

0 

York 

0 

0 

158 

143 

12 

8 

8 

5 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

*Kolb,  J.  H.,  Rural  Primary  Groups,  Res.  Bu!.  51,  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.,  University  of 
Wisconsin,  page  25. 


18 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


Table  VII. — Religious  Bodies  in  Dane  County  by  Number  of  Churches, 
Aggregate  Accommodations  and  Total  Value  for  the  Years 
1850,  1860  and  1870* 


Number  of 

Aggregate  Accom- 

Denominations 

churchesf 

modations 

by 

Total  value  by 

by 

years 

years 

years 

1850 

1860 

1870 

1850 

1860 

1870 

1850 

1860 

1870 

All  denominations  .. 

14 

39 

84 

1 ,694 

12,830 

22,250 

5.500 

$113,900 

$163,200 

Baptist 

3 

2 

10 

189 

900 

1 ,700 

16,000 
1 ,300 

Congregational 

1 

1 

6 

300 

150 

2,000 

850 

2,500 

Evan.  Association  ... 

9 

Lutheran 

1 

10 

6 

500 

3,350 

1 ,500 

1 ,500 

18,900 

Methodist 

Episcopal 

4 

7 

32 

332 

2,250 
1 ,900 

7,000 
1 ,000 

500 

12,300 

11,700 

Presbyterian 

4 

7 

3 

173 

Protestant 

Episcopal 

1 

4 

400 

1 ,000 
7,000 

! 

24,000 

27,700 

2,000 

Rom  an  Catholic 

1 

10 

14 

200 

3,580 

300 

1 ,000 

Universalist 

1 

1 

*This  table  was  compiled  from  the  following  sources:  Seventh  c’ensus  of  the 
United  States  (1850)  pp.  934-936;  Eighth  Census  of  the  United  States  (1860), 
Mortality  and  Miscellaneous  Statistics,  pp.  489-493;  Ninth  Census  of  the  United 
States  (1870)  Population  and  Social  Statistics,  pp.  559  'ff.  No  figures  are  available 
for  the  period  ending  in  1880. 

fin  1850  and  1860  the  caption  “Numcer  of  Churches”  is  used;  in  1870  the  caption 
Number  of  Church- Organizations.” 

and  the  Moravian.  Naturally  some  other  elements,  too  small  to  be  of 
striking  or  general  significance,  were  drawn  from  one  group  to  the 
other  by  intermarriage,  convenience  of  location  and  by  other  causes. 
As  a rule,  then,  it  is  found  that  each  parish  has  an  old  American  or 
an  old  world  social  and  historical  background  of  its  own. 

General  Distribution  in  the  County — The  settlement  took  place  in 

groups,  such  groups  consisting  of  an  aggregation  of  people  who  had 
much  in  common  with  respect  to  nationality,  language,  customs,  re- 
ligious traditions,  and  economic  and  social  interests.  The  Lutheran 
stream,  consisting  as  it  did  of  Norwegian  and  German  elements, 
spread  pretty  well  over  the  entire  county.  Tables  V to  VII  show 
the  distribution  at  various  periods.  The  Norwegians  first  settled  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  the  county  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Koshkonong. 
Later  settlements  followed  in  Primrose,  Perry,  and  Vermont  town- 
ships while  still  other  parts  of  the  county  were  later  settled  by  them. 
The  German  settlers  generally  divide  their  allegiance  between  the 
Roman  Catholics  and  the  Lutherans.  With  respect  to  their  church 
relations  they  grouped  ‘ themselves  as  “German  Lutherans”  and , 
“German  Catholics”.  As  the  map,  Fig.  9,  shows,  they  are  found  in 
considerable  numbers  in  all  parts  of  the  county.  Possibly  about  one- 
third  of  the  German  settlers  were  Lutherans.  The  Roman  Catholic 
stream,  composed  of  German,  Irish,  Bohemian,  and  French  groups,  is 
represented  in  a large  majority  of  the  townships.  There  are  a good 
many  townships,  however  particularly  where  the  Norwegian  elements 
are  strong,  in  which  few,  if  any,  Roman  Catholics  are  found.  The 
large  majority  of  Germans  in  the  county  are  Roman  Catholics.  The 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


19 


Fig.  9. — Distribution  of  the  Streams  in  Dane  County  in  1895 


20 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


other  elements  arrayed  in  point  of  numbers  are  the  following:  Irish, 

Bohemian,  and  French.  The  “ Reformed ” stream  was  the  earliest  and 
thinnest.  A large  proportion  of  these  early  settlers,  as  may  be  seen 
in  Table  V,  were  natives  of  Vermont,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Ohio,  and  came  from  the  farms  and  villages  of  these  states.  They 
were  pretty  well  scattered  over  the  entire  county.  Many  of  the  local 
townships  were  organized  by  them,  being  named  after  the  localities 
from  which  they  came.  Roxbury,  for  instance,  now  overwhelmingly 
German,  was  named  by  an  Easterner  whose  native  town  in  New  York 
bore  the  same  name.  Another  example  is  Utica,  named  by  settlers 
from  the  vicinity  of  Utica,  New  York.  A goodly  proporton  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  immigration  came  from  England  and  some  from  Scotland. 
The  former  were  particularly  strong  in  Albion,  Mazomanie,  Black  Earth 
and  Verona  townships.  The  Swiss  are  represented  in  these  nativity 
tables  for  1870,  disappear  almost  entirely  in  that  of  1895  and  reap- 
pear in  1905.  These  elements  are  all  tributaries  of  the  “Reformed” 
stream.  The  various  groups  within  the  general  church  families  will 
now  be  considered  in  greater  detail. 

The  Lutheran  Stream 

The  Lutheran  stream,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  its  original 
reservoirs  in  the  northern  states  of  Germany  and  in  the  Scandinavian 
countries.  These  emigrations  were  attributable  in  part  to  a religious 
strain  between  church  and  state  in  all  these  areas  although  another 
very  important  factor  in  the  movement  was  the  quest  of  economic 
fortune. 

The  English  Lutherans — One  of  the  constituent  Lutheran  bodies 
represented  in  the  county  is  the  Lutheran  General  Council.  Locally 
it  is  referred  to  as  the  English  Lutheran  Synod  of  the  Northwest, 
this  latter  being  one  of  the  synods  constituting  the  United  Lutheran 
Church.  Its  adherents  are  mainly  Engfish-speaking,  or  Americanized 
descendants  of  Lutheran  immigrants,  as  can  be  noted  in  Table  IV. 
Churches  of  this  body  are  found  in  the  towns  and  villages  of  the 
county  rather  than  in  the  open  country. 

This  General  Council  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  American  churches. 
Henry  Melchior  Muehlenberg  was  the  pioneer  of  American  Lutheran- 
ism and  began  his  work  among  the  Germans  of  Pennsylvania  in  1741. 
The  first  Lutheran  synod  was  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  founded  in 
August,  1748.  Active  missionary  work  was  carried  on  by  itinerants 
in  what  was  then  the  West  and  Southwest.  In  due  time  synods  were 
organized  by  states  and  in  1820  these  were  united  into  the  General 
Synod.  The  period  of  Americanization,  or  the  transition  from  the 
use  of  the  German  to  that  of  the  English  language,  occasioned  much 
bitterness  and  animosity,  and  together  with  other  causes  led  to 
serious  disruption  within  this  synod.  During  the  Civil  War  the 

southern  churches  broke  away  and  formed  what  is  now  known  as  the 


Rural  Religious  Organization, 


21 


United  Synod  South.  Doctrinal  controversies  which  had36611  carried 
on  for  years  led  to  a second,  more  serious,  rupture  in  844  and  re- 
sulted in  the  formation  of  the  Lutheran  General  Council  1 1866  by  the 
more  conservative  elements.  The  liberal  party  remaitd  in  and  had 
full  control  of  the  General  Synod.  This  latter  group  i-not  represent- 
ed by  churches  in  the  county.  As  will  be  indicated  ler>  these  three 
bodies  came  together  again  in  1919  and  are  now  ^nown  as  the 
United  Lutheran  Church  in  America. 

The  Norwegian  Lutherans — The  first  Norwegiar  settlers  came  to 
Dane  County  in  1840.  From  this  time  on  there  a steady  influx 
partly  occasioned  by  religious  persecutions  in  No^Y*  Considerable 
friction  existed  in  that  country  between  the  not>ty  and  the  masses 
of  the  people.  The  church  was  an  institution  of  *e  state  and  belong- 
ed to  the  Lutheran  family  of  churches.  Dissents  were  punished  for 
their  religious  activities,  compelled  to  attend  cotnunion  services  and 
their  children  were  taken  by  force  and  baptize  These  settlers  or- 

ganized their  first  church  in  the  county  in  JfA.  It  was  called  the 
East  Koshkonong  church  and  is  located  in  Clhstiana  Township.  This 
church  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  mot'^r  church  of  the  Nor- 
wegian Lutheran  Churches  in  America.  The  sne  year  the  West  Kosh- 
konong church  was  founded  in  Pleasant  Spngs  township.  In  both 
these  townships  the  population  is  almost  excisively  of  Norwegian  ex- 
traction. Later  there  were  settlements  in  Sringdale,  Perry  and  Blue 
Mounds  Townships  and  the  following  were  tfe  more  important  churches 
established:  East  Blue  Mounds  (1850)  ; Springdale  (1852);  Perry 

(1852).  Following  close  upon  settlement  irother  parts  of  the  county, 
churches  were  organized  as  follows:'  Yo*c  (1855);  Vermont  (1857); 
Primrose  (1870) ; West  Blue  Mounds  (180) ; Mount  Horeb  (1887). 
Only  the  earlier  and  more  important  chrches  are  here  mentioned. 
Names  prominent  in  those  early  beginning  were  those  of  C.  L.  Clausen, 
A.  C.  Preus,  H.  A.  Preus,  U.  V.  Korn,  J.  A.  Ottesen,  and  P. 
L.  Larsen.  C.  L.  Clausen,  by  some  conslered  the  pioneer  among  the 
Norwegian  ministers,  was  chaplain  duing  the  Civil  War  of  the 
famous  Norwegian  regiment,  the  15th  Yisconsin. 

The  Norwegian  Evangelical  Lutheran  .ynod  of  North  America  was 
founded  in  1853,  under  the  leadership  o these  men,  who  represented 
the  more  conservative  of  the  Norwegiai  Lutheran  elements.  Among 
Norwegians  this  body  is  often  called  singly  “The  Synod  Church.”  In 
the  early  days  they  were  in  close  sympahy  with  the  Missouri  Synod, 
an  influential  German  Lutheran  body,  a whose  seminary  they  had 
professors  of  their  own,  namely,  Larsei,  Preus,  and  F.  A.  Schmidt. 
Indeed,  in  1872,  the  Norwegian  Synod,  ogether  with  other  Lutheran 
synods,  had  united  with  the  Missouri.ns  in  forming  the  strong 
Synodical  Conference.  Soon,  however,  the  predestin^rian  contro- 
versy was  at  its  height  within  the  Syncdical  Conference.  The  two 
parties  within  this  Conference  were  the  ‘Missourians”  and  the  “anti- 
Missourians”.  Both  these  parties  were  represented  in  the  Norwegian 


22 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


Synod  and  iiprder  to  avoid  a rupture  within  itself,  the  latter  synod 
withdrew  fro\  the  Synodical  Conference  in  1884.  During  this  con- 
troversy Prof^or  Asperheim  of  the  Seminary  of  the  Norwegian 
Evangelical  Ltieran  Synod,  who  was  an  “anti-Missourian”  resigned 
and  left  the  sV^d.  The  rupture,  however,  could  not  be  permanently 
avoided  and  oc\rred  in  1887,  giving  rise  to  the  United  Norwegian 
Lutheran  ChurcKn  North  America. 

The  United  Nokegian  Lutheran  Church  in  North  America  was  or- 
ganized in  1890  an\was  promoted  by  the  “anti-Missourians”  who  had 
left  the  Norwegiar^nod.  The  latter  attempted  to  ally  with  them- 
selves other  Lutherl  bodies,  namely,  the  Hauge  Synod,  the  Norwegian 
Augustana  Synod  an  the  Norwegian-Danish  Conference.  All  but  the 
Hauge  Synod  joinecyhis  bod}'.  These  controversies  were  projected 
down  into  the  local  togregations  as  is  shown  by  the  following  story 
of  the  Perry  townshiprhurch.  A meeting  was  called  on  Dec.  29,  1882 
at  which  an  outline  y the  discussion  of  the  doctrinal  question  of 
“election”  was  present^  and  a vote  taken.  Again  in  July,  1887,  this 
same  congregation  by  vte  withdrew  from  the  Norwegian  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Synod  of  Nori  America  owing  to  the  so-called  “Naadevalg 
Striden”  (the  predestinlion  controversy)  later  to  join  the  United 
Norwegian  Lutheran  Ch^ch  in  North  America.5 

The  N orwegian  Evangecal  Lutheran  Hauge  Synod,  first  organized 
according  to  various  churl  historians  in  1846,  or  1850,  gained  its  ad- 
herents in  Dane  county  a\er  the  first  Norwegian  Lutheran  churches' 
in  the  southern  part  were  \tell  established.  Although  the  churches  and 
circuits  had  been  lately  orinized  and  the  pioneers  were  enjoying  the 
peace  of  a quiet  and  orderHchurch  life,  there  appeared  in  their  midst 
the  eloquent  lay  preacher,  \lling  Eielson,  a disciple  of  Hauge.  The 
latter  had  likewise  been  a la\  preacher  and  a revivalist  and  the  leader 
of  a popular  religious  movement  in  Norway.  He  was  several  times 
imprisoned  on  account  of  hij  religious  activity.  Under  the  influence 
of  Eielson,  rival  churches,  oien  in  immediate  proximity  of  the  older 
churches,  sprung  up.  This,  tqether  with  the  fact  that  differences  had 
arisen  over  the  much  debatec  question  of  predestination,  accounts  for 
the  phenomenon  that  right  at  in  the  open  country  two  substantial 


churches  with  prosperous 
standing  within  a stone’s  th 
illustrated  in  the  cases  of  both 
well  as  in  Perry  Township, 
throughout  the  northwest  wl 


of  the  three  described,  wa 
sympathizing  with  Hauge’s  ^ 
sensions  in  this  synod  were 


:ongregations  may  today  be  found 
)w  of  one  another.  This  is  strikingly 
East  and  West  Koshkonong  churches,  as 
I fact  this  picture  is  rather  characteristic 
re  Scandinavian  settlements  are  found. 


This  synod,  apparently  the  olest  in  America  but  not  in  the  county, 


organized  by  Norwegian  immigrants 
ews  under  Eielson’s  leadership.  Dis- 
frequent  and  after  several  parties  had 
seceded,  reorganization  took  Iplace  in  1876  under  the  name  of  “The 
Norwegian  Evangelical  Lutheran  Hauge  Synod.” 


“Ruste,  C.  O.,  Sixty  Years  of 


berry  C 


Congregation,  pp.  71  and  91. 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


23 


The  German  Lutherans — The  German  immigration  began  very  early. 
The  settlers  came  largely  from  Ron\an  Catholic  provinces  of  Germany 
and  some  from  Bohemia  and  Austria.  Others  were  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church  or  of  the  official  State  Church.  The  German 
Lutherans  in  most  places  superseded  earlier  groups,  one  of  which  was 
known  as  the  EvangelicaJ  Association.  Some  of  the  outstanding 
churches  of  this  Lutheran  group  were  the  following:  Berry  (1860); 
Blue  Mounds,  (1858);  Cottage  Grove,  Deerfield  Township;  Middleton; 
Perry;  Springdale  and  Westport. 

Typical  of  one  of  these  settlements  is  t\at  of  the  former  Lutheran 
congregation  in  the  neighborhood  known  a\  Mud  Lake.  The  settlers 
came  in  1854  and  built  their  church  in  1861.  One  of  the  early  settlers 
is  said  to  have  had  a definite  colonization  plai\  which  he  put  into  effect 
by  writing  consistently  to  friends  and  relatives  in  a similar  neighbor- 
hood in  one  of  the  provinces  in  Mecklenburg. 

Why  some  groups  were  Lutherans  and  othen  Catholics  is  illustrat- 
ed in  the  case  of  the  Springfield  Corners  neighbo  hood.  The  Lutheran 
group  has  its  church  at  what  is  known  as  Lutheran  or  Hickory  Hill. 
Dr.  Otto  Kerl  and  Louis  Martini,  the  latter  an  intimate  friend  of  Carl 
Schurz,  were  leaders  among  these  early  settlers  ccming  from  Saxony. 
The  other  group  is  said  to  have  come  from  Cologne,  and  partly  from 
Luxemburg.  These  settlers  united  . and  organizec  a Catholic  con- 
gregation and  built  a church  just  to  the  west  of  Springfield  Corners. 
It  was  later  moved  to  what  is  now  known  as  Martinsville. 

The  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synodical  Conference  is  c^ie  of  the  three 
German  Lutheran  bodies  found  in  the  county.  It  w«s  organized  in 
1872.  It  originally  embraced  the  following  synods : Missouri,  Ohio. 
Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  the  Noitvegian  Synod 
referred  to  above.  Some  of  these  synods  have  in  the  m-antime  with- 
drawn. The  churches  in  this  county  are  affiliated  through  vthe  Synod  of 
Wisconsin  with  this  Synodical  Conference.  Like  othei^  synods  the 
Wisconsin  Synod  had  a corporate  existence  prior  to  the  organization 
of  the  Synodical  Conference  and  before  this  belonged  to  tl^e  Lutheran 
General  Council,  which  it  left  in  1872  to  join  the  Synodical  Conference. 
Owing  to  the  influence  which  the  latter  organization  has^had  upon 
German  Lutheranism  in  the  West,  and  therefore  also  upon  th  churches 
in  this  county,  a little  more  detail  as  to  its  origin  and  histdty  will  be 

given.  \ 

* 'i 

The  organization  of  the  Synodical  Conference  was  the  result  of  a 
movement  on  the  part  of  German  Lutherans  belonging  to  the  various 
synods  referred  to  above,  to  unite  and  form  a stronger  an,^.  larger 
body.  In  order  to  avoid  confusion  it  must  be  remembered  that  (a,  con- 
gregation belonging  to  a given  synod  is  not  always  located  in  the;  state, 
whose  name  that  particular  synod  bears.  For  example,  the  corporate 
title  of  one  of  these  is  “The  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod  of  Missouri, 
Ohio  and  other  States”.  It  extends  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific 
and  from  Canada  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Argentine.  It  so 


24 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


happens  that  this  particular  synod  has  had  a most  powerful  influence 
upon  the  Synodical  Conference,  wfrose  chief  promoter  it  was  from  the 
very  beginning.  In  the  determination  of  the  policies  and  the  doctrinal 
position  of  the  Synodical  Conference  the  Missouri  Synod  has  always 
played  the  leading  part.  This  has  been  due  in  large  part  to  the 
energetic  and  capable  leadership  of  C.  F.  W.  Walther,  the  founder  of 
so-called  “Missouri  Lutheranis/n”  and  its  most  conspicuous  proponent. 
For  these  reasons  any  one  t/elonging  to  one  of  the  Synodical  Con- 
ference churches,  of  whatevyf  synod,  is  in  popular  usage,  a “Missouri 
Lutheran.”  It  will  also  be  /emembered  that  the  theological  questions 
which  agitated  the  Norwegian  Lutherans  were  those  propounded  by 
the  so-called  “Missourians'/. 

Most  of  the  Lutherans  in  the  west  and  the  Missouri  Synod  in 
particular,  trace  their  origin  to  the  reaction  which  followed  the  union 
of  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  Churches  in  Germany  into  one  new 
Evangelical  Church,  popularly  known  as  the  State  Church.  This 
church  was  a tax-suiported  institution.  The  movement  which  con- 
summated in  this  unyon  was  inaugurated  by  Frederick  William  III  of 
Prussia,  urged  by  the  desire  of  the  Hohenzollerns  to  reconcile  the  re- 
ligious differences  /f  their  subjects.  The  strict,  orthodox  Lutherans 
violently  opposed  /his  union  and  organized  separate  Lutheran  Free 
Churches.  The  rt/ictionary  movement  spread  to  Saxony  and  Bavaria. 
Efforts  to  suppre/s  this  dissent  were  made  but  the  only  result  was  to 
stiffen  in  their  ^opposition  those  who  considered  themselves  the 
champions  of  trVe  Lutheranism.  Partly  as  a result  of  such  persecution 
in  the  Fatherlaid,  thousands  of  Lutherans  emigrated  to  America.  In 
1839  one  such  /arty  of  500  immigrants  streamed  into  Milwaukee  while 
another  consi^ing  of  700  Saxons  settled  in  Perry  County,  Missouri, 
and  in  St.  Lot/s.  Under  the  influence  of  C.  F.  W.  Walther  the  churches 
which  the  Sa/ons  formed  became  the  nucleus  of  the  Synod  of  Missouri. 
No  doubt  di£  to  the  experience  in  Europe  of  its  founders  this  synod 
from  the  beflnning  rejected  all  kinds  of  unionism  with  those  of  another 
faith.  Without  question  also  much  of  the  success  of  this  synod  was  due 
to  its  exctf)tionally  able  leaders,  many  of  whom  were  theologically 
trained  in/Serman  universities  and  were  former  pastors  in  Germany. 

The  Iom  Synod  has  several  congregations  in  the  county  as  is  shown 
in  Table/L  It  was  founded  in  1854  at  Dubuque,  Iowa  and  like  the 
Missouri  Synod  it  is  directly  a product  of  German  old  Lutheran 
orthodoxy.  The  story  of  its  European  backgrounds  would  be  largely  a 
repetiti^  of  those  already  told  in  connection  with  the  Missouri  Synod. 
There  is,  however,  this  important  difference,  namely,  that  Wilhelm 
Loehe/the  venerable  theologian  and  philanthropist  was  its  sponsor  in 
Germany,  and  had  a remarkable  influence  upon  its  policies  and  activities. 
Loeha  was  a strict  Lutheran  and  considered  impurity  of  doctrine  as 
bad  ;/s  immoral  conduct.  Upon  the  request  of  the  German  settlers  at 
Fort/ Wayne,  Indiana,  Loehe  sent  missionary  pastors  to  America. 
The.de  were  trained  in  Neuendettelsau,  Bavaria,  the  seat  of  his  labors  in 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


25 


Germany,  which  had  two  stately  buildings  devoted  to  the  training  of 
missionary  pastors.  At  first  these  preachers  identified  themselves  with 
the  Ohio  Synod,  which  will  be  described  presently,  but  later  owing  to 
the  “unionistic  tendencies”  of  the  latter  they  left  and  in  1845  establish- 
ed a theological  seminary  at  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  where  missionaries, 
who  had  received  their  preliminary  training  at  Neuendettelsau,  completed 
their  preparation.  In  this  undertaking  Loehe  and  his„  friends  rendered 
financial  support.  Loehe  advised  them  to  identify  themselves  with  the 
Saxon  Lutherans  in  Missouri.  This  was  before  the  Missouri  Synod 
had  been  organized.  Indeed,  many  of  Loehe’s  missionaries  in  1847 
joined  with  the  Saxons  in  forming  the  Missouri  Synod.  The  two 
parties,  the  “Saxons”  and  the  “Bavarians”  could,  however,  not  agree 
concerning  various  points  of  doctrine,  particularly  those  of  the  Church 
and  the  ministry.  Representatives  were  sent  to  confer  with  Loehe  but 
in  spite  of  the  latter’s  efforts  at  conciliation,  no  agreement  could  be 
reached.  Loehe’s  adherents,  therefore,  went  west  to  carry  on  their 
missionary  work  and  in  1854  together  with  several  other  ministers 
founded  the  Synod  of  Iowa.  Since  then,  although  some  attempts  have 
been  made  to  harmonize  differences,  this,  synod  has  maintained  a 
separate  corporate  existence. 

The  Evangelical  Lutheran  Joint  Synod  of  Ohio  and  Other  States  is 
the  third  and  last  synod  with  which  several  of  the  German  Lutheran 
congregations  of  the  county  are  affiliated.  It  was  formed  in  1818  by 
itinerant  preachers  connected  with  the  Pennsylvania  Ministerium.  The 
latter  later  took  the  initiative  in  the  organization  of  the  General  Council. 
This  synod  is  therefore  historically  quite  closely  related  to  this  body. 
In  1833  it  adopted  its  present  name.  It  had  some  connection,  also, 
from  almost  the  very  beginning  with  Lutheranism  in  Germany.  The 
missionary  pastors  sent  by  Wilhelm  Loehe  at  first  identified  them- 
selves with  this  synod.  This  caused  it  to  develop  in  a more  decidedly 
Lutheran  direction  than  was  the  case  with  the  older  American  Lutheran 
groups.  Indeed,  in  1872,  it  had  united  with  the  Missouri  Synod,  said 
to  be  the  most  conservative  of  Lutheran  bodies,  in  the  formation  of 
the  Synodical  Conference.  The  controversy  on  predestination  led  to 
its  withdrawal  in  1881. 

Recent  Lutheran  Integrating  Movements — Within  more  recent  years 
the  desire  on  the  part  of  outstanding  Lutheran  leaders  for  closer  as- 
sociation has  crystallzed  in  the  merging  of  the  more  homogeneous 
bodies  into  larger  organizations.  Chart  II  indicates  the  general  scheme 
of  relationships  together  with  these  integrating  movements.  What 
the  Synodical  Conference  attained  in  1872  by  the  union  of  a number  of 
strong  German  Lutheran  synods,  making  it  for  man}'-  years  the  strong- 
est Lutheran  body  in  America,  the  English  or  old  American  Lutherans 
and  the  various  Norwegian  Lutherans  accomplished  by  their  respective 
mergers  of  more  recent  date.  True  to  the  heritage  cherished  by  them, 
union  among  Lutherans  is,  as  a rule,  upon  the  basis  of  their  common 
doctrines  whereas  among  the  “Reformed”  bodies  as  in  the  case  of  the 


26 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


Federal  Council  of  Churches,  for  example,  questions  of  doctrine  are 
carefully  avoided.  Their  association  is  rather  for  purposes  of  co- 
operation in  practical  programs.  This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  the 
only  Lutheran  body,  the  United  Lutheran  Church  in  America,  related 
to  this  Federal  Council,  is  associated  in  a consultative  rather  than  a . 
voting  capacity. 

The  United  Lutheran  Church  in  America  was  formed  in  1919.  It  is 
a corporate  union  of  the  General  Council,  the  General  Synod  and  the 
United  Synod  South.  The  latter  two  are  not  represented  in  the  county. 

In  Dr.  H.  K.  Carroll’s  religious  statistics  for  1922,  this  new  body  was 
reported  as  the  largest  Lutheran  body  in  America,  outstripping  the 
Synodical  Conference,  however,  by  only  a very  small  margin.6 

The  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  of  America  is  a merger  of  the 
three  Norwegian  Lutheran  bodies  represented  in  the  county  and  al- 
ready described,  namely  the  Norwegian  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod 
of  North  America,  the  United  Norwegian  Lutheran  Church  in  North 
America  and  the  Norwegian  Evangelical  Lutheran  Hauge  Synod. 
This  union  took  place  in  1919.  A small  minority  of  the  Nor- 


“Carroll,  H.  K.,  “Religious  Statistics,”  Christian  Herald,  April  7,  1923. 


Chart  II.- — Integrating  Movements  of  Lutheran  Bodies  Represented  in 
County  with  Dates  of  Organization* 


General  Council  (1867) 
General  Synod  (1820) 
United  Synod  South  (1863) 


The  United  Lutheran 
Church  in  America 
(1918) 


Hauge’s  Synod  (1876) 

Norwegian  Church  in 
America  (1853) 


Norwegian 

Augustana 

Synod 

► United  Norwegian 
Church  (1890) 

Norwegian 
Danish  Conference 


1:  National 
Lutheran 
Council 
; (1919) 


Iowa  Synod  (1854) 

Ohio  Synod  (1818) 

Other  Synods  not  in 
county 


Missouri  Synod  (1847) 

Wisconsin  Synod  (1849) 

Other  Synods  not  in 
county 


Synodical  Conference  (1872) 


‘This  chart  is  based  on  material  found  in  Warburton  S.  R.,  Yearbook  of  the 
Churches,  1920,  pp.  59-71,  Schaff-Herzog,  Op.  Cit.  Vol.  VII,  pp.  83-93, 
Rememsnyder,  J.  B.,  Op.  Cit.,  p.  22  and  upon  information  courteously 
furnished  by  the  Lutheran  Bureau  of  New7  York  City. 

The  dotted  line  indicates  a federation  rather  than  a complete  merger. 


Rural  Religious  Organization 

wegian  Synod  did  not  join  in  this  union,  and  is  now  a part 
Synodical  Conference. 

Thus  it  will  be  noted  that  Lutheran  bodies  with  a more 
national  or  racial  experience  are  moving  together.  Among  the  r 
maining  bodies,  language  and  nationality  are  lines  of  cleavage. 

The  National  Lutheran  Council  was  formed  in  1919.  This  is  not 
merger,  but  at  present  a qiore  or  less  loose  federation  for  cooperation 
in  practical  work.  It  has  general  headquarters  in  New  York  City, 
known  as  the  Lutheran  Bureau,  “a  national  medium  for  information 
and  service”,  together  with  a Reference  Library.  The  constituent 
bodies  also  compile  together  their  statistical  and  annual  church  re- 
ports. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Stream 

The  Roman  Catholic  group  is  next  to  be  considered.  Their  organi- 
zation also  followed  the  German  immigration  as  well  as  the  Irish  and 
the  French.  Table  V shows  that  in  eight  of  their  churches  the 
nationality  or  national  extraction  of  the  membership  is  German,  in 
four  Irish,  in  one  French  and  in  nine  it  is  mixed.  This  latter 

characteristic  is  stronger  in  the  case  of  the  Roman  Catholics  than  of 
any  other  single  religious  body.  The  earliest  organizations  appear  to 
have  been  the  following:  Berry  (1853);  Mt.  Horeb ; Bristol;  Dane 

(1875);  Deerfield;  Dunkirk  (1868);  Dunn;  Mazomanie  (1856); 
Marshall;  Paoli ; Roxbury  (1845);  Sun  Prairie;  Westport.  Typical  of 
these  settlements  is  the  story  of  Father  Inama  and  the  Roxbury 
church. 

Father  Inama’s  Colonization  Project  in  Roxbury  Township — An  out- 
standing example  of  how  the  county  was  originally  settled,  and  how 
people  came  to  group  themselves  religiously  as  they  have,  is  that  of 
Father  Adelbert  Inama,  a highly  trained  young  German  Catholic  priest. 
He  settled  in  Roxbury  township  in  1845  building  for  himself  a small 
log  cabin  in  one  of  the  dells  several  miles  from  the  Wisconsin  River. 
He  entered  a large  tract  of  land.  Hither  he  invited  his  fellow  country- 
men to  whom  he  sold  the  land  for  the  original  government  price.  In  this 
undertaking  he  was  very  successful  and  in  process  of  time  a compact 
German  Catholic  settlement  had  been  formed.  Although  at  the  begin- 
ning the  Americans  were  in  the  majority  in  this  township,  “today”  as 
one  writer  puts  it,  “the  town  is  as  free  from  people  of  English  extrac- 
tion as  Germany  itself.”7 

The  European  Origins — Christendom  as  a whole  may  be  divided  in- 
to three  grand  divisions,  Greek,  Latin  and  Protestant  as  outlined  in 
Chart  I.  Of  these  the  Latin,  or  Roman  Catholic  division  is  the  largest. 
Christianity  originated  in  Palestine  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
era,  and  had  firmly  established  itself  in  all  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire 


7History  of  Madison,  Dane  County,  and  surroundings,  p.  500. 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century.  It  then  became  the  religion  of 
'ie  Empire.  After  a struggle  lasting  several  centuries  between  the  East 
nd  West,  the  “Great  Schism”  occurred,  splitting  Christendom  into  rival 
^atin  and  Greek  churches  following  political  cultural  lines  of  partition.  The 
final  and  permanent  separation  came  in  1053  A.  D.  Protestant 
Christianity,  the  third  grand  division,  began  with  the  rise  of  the 
Protestant  Reformation  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  It 
spread  rapidly  and  established  itself  firmly  in  northern  Germany, 
Scandinavia,  England  and  Scotland.  Latin  Christianity,  or  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  maintained  itself  after  a fierce  struggle  in  the  Romance 
lands,  southern  Germany,  Bohemia,  Moravia,  Poland  and  Hungary. 
In  most  of  these  countries  Protestantism  had  gained  a considerable 
following,  but  a movement  within  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  itself 
known  as  the  Counter-Reformation  saved  these  parts  of  Europe  to  the 
old  church.  In  the  minds  of  the  Irish,  Protestantism  and  the  domina- 
tion of  the  English  were  closely  related,  and  for  this  reason  their 
country  remained  overwhelmingly  Roman  Catholic,  only  about  one- 
fourth  of  the  population  being  Protestant.  It  should  again  be  recalled 
in  this  connection  that  in  those  days  religious  beliefs  and  forms  were 
matters  not  so  much  of  the  individual  as  of  the  state.  Hence,  whole 
states  or  provinces  became  either  Protestant  or  remained  Roman 
Catholic. 

It  is  from  these  Roman ' Catholic  sections  of  Europe  that  many  of 
the  settlers  of  Dane  County  came,  particularly  southern  Germany. 
Bohemia,  Ireland  and  France.  They  organized  here  the  churches  of 
their  native  land.  They  brought  with  them  the  legacies  of  their  re- 
ligious life,  and  these  they  transmitted  to  their  children;  among  these 
are  a love  of  the  artistic  and  a reverence  for  beauty  as  seen  in  their 
stately  church  buildings,  an  appreciation  of  the  mystical  elements  of 
worship  in  religion,  a veneration  together  with  an  intense  loyalty  and 
zeal  for  their  church  with  its  rich  and  remarkable  past. 

Recent  Rural  Life  Emphasis — Although  in  the  past  the  Catholic 
Church  has  been  considered  pretty  largely  a city  church,  nevertheless 
strong  rural  parishes  have  been  built  up.  These  have  recently  been 
receiving  a larger  measure  of  attention.  In  1919  the  National  Catholic 
War  Council  was  re-organized  under  the  name  of  the  Catholic  Welfare 
Council,  with  headquarters  in  Washington,  D.  C.  Among  other  depart- 
ments in  this  Council  is  one  known  as  the  “Social  Action  Department”, 
Its  purpose  is  reported  to  be  that  of  furnishing  information  and  spread- 
ing Catholic  principles  and  ideals  in  citizenship  and  industrial  and 
social  service.  Within  this  department  in  turn  is  a Rural  Life  Bureau, 
directed  by  the  Rev.  Edwin  V.  O’Hara  of  Eugene,  Oregon.  “St.  Isidore’s 
Plow,”  devoted  to  the  promotion  of  rural  welfare,  is  the  monthly  publi- 
cation issued  from  this  office.  Two  statements  from  a bulletin  recent- 
ly put  out  by  this  Bureau  may  give  some  indication  of  the  present 
emphasis.8  “The  Church  is  called  to  rural  leadership  not  merely  from 


8A  Program  of  Catholic  Rural  Action, 
County,  Oregon,  pp.  4 and  18. 


based  on  a religious  survey  of  Lane 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


29 


legitimate  motives  of  self-interest,  but  also  because  of  its  peculiar  fit- 
ness in  helping  to  solve  the  rural  problem.  In  a rural  religious  program 
strong  emphasis  must  be  laid  on  colonization.  Every  effort  should  be 
made  to  have  Catholic  farmers  settle  within  a radius  of  five  miles  of  a 
religious  center.  * * * Where  Catholic  farmers  live  out  of  touch  with 
their  co-religionists,  there  is  not  only  danger  of  indifference,  but  the 
almost  certainty  of  mixed  marriage.” 

The  “Reformed”  Stream 

A large  proportion  of  the  very  early  settlers  in  the  county  were 
natives  of  New  York,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  Vermont,  as  is  shown  by 
Table  III.  These  were,  as  a matter  of  fact,  the  first  settlers.  A small 
proportion  came  directly  from  England  and  Scotland.  They  were 
scattered  in  their  settlement  over  the  entire  county.  Even  where  they 
have  been  superseded  by  later  settlers,  they  have  left  their  marks  in 
the  names  of  the  villages  and  townships.  Most  of  these  were  organized 
by  the  “New  Englanders”  and  named  after  the  localities  in  the  East 
from  which  they  came.  As  these  settlers  were  the  pioneers  in  the 
county,  so  their  churches  seem  to  have  been  the  first  to  establish 
themselves,  for  Table  IV  indicates  that  the  “Reformed”,  or  nOn- 
Lutheran  Protestant  churches,  were  greatly  in  the  majority  in  point  of 
number  of  organizations,  and  also  in  the  number  of  adherents  which 
they  had.  These  again  were  the  churches  to  which  they  had  become  ac- 
customed in  their  former  Eastern  or  European  homes. 

Adventists — The  Adventist  bodies,  two  of  which  have  figured  in  the 
religious  history  of  the  county,  trace  their  origin  to  William  Miller,  a 
farmer  by  occupation.  He  became  interested  in  prophetical  Bible 
studies,  which  he  believed  taught  premillennialism,  the  doctrine  that  the 
millennium  is  to  be  introduced  by  the  personal,  visible  return  (advent)  of 
Christ.  He  further  believed  this  return  was  near  at  hand.  He  was 
active  from  1831-1849.  The  Advent  Christians  appear  in  the  religious 
census  for  1890,  the  only  trace  of  this  body  which  was  found  in  the 
county.  They  are  a corporate  body  dating  from  1861.  Among  their 
distinguishing  tenets  may  be  mentioned  the  belief  that  the  dead  remain 
in  an  unconscious  condition  until  the  resurrecton  at  the  advent,  when 
those  who  had  faith  will  begin  an  endless  life  upon  this  earth  while  the 
rest  will  suffer  complete  extinction.  They  believe  that  Sunday  is  the 
Christian  Sabbath.  The  Seventh-Day  Adventists  have  one  small  or- 
ganization in  the  county  at  Dane.  They  hold  to  the  general  teachings 
of  the  Adventists,  and  in  addition  they  believe  that  Saturday,  the 
seventh  day  of  the.  week,  is  the  Sabbath  obligatory  upon  Christians. 
Their  organization  dates  from  1845  when  a body  of  Adventists  adopted 
this  belief. 

The  Baptists — Three  different  Baptists  denominational  groups  appear 
in  the  county’s  religious  history.  The  designation  “Baptist”  is  used 
for  various  bodies  of  Christians  who  hold  to  the  common  doctrine  that 
immersion  is  the  only  Christian  baptism.  The  Northern  Baptist  Con- 


30 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


vention  is  the  body  to  which  several  of  the  churches  of  the  county  be- 
long. It  is  commonly  called  simply  the  Baptist  Church.  They  were 
active  or  had  adherents  in  the  following  villages  and  townships:  Berry; 
Stoughton  (1861);  Mazomanie  (1857);  Marshall  (1860);  Belleville 
(1856);  Rutland;  Sun  Prairie.  American  Baptists  trace  their  origin  to 
Roger  Wiliams  and  John  Clark.  The  churches  at  Providence  and  New- 
port both  contend  for  the  honor  of  being  the  mother  church.  Their 
form  of  government  is  congregational,  and  they  acknowledge  no 
ecclesiastical  authority.  In  history  they  are  known  for  their  evangelistic 
fervor,  educational  work  and  foreign  missionary  activity.  Among  the 
most  important  educational  institutions  founded  by  them  are  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  and  Brown  University.  They  were  early  champions 
of  religious  liberty. 

The  Seventh  Day  Baptists  constitute  a group  which  is  still  a settle- 
ment in  Albion  township.  The  first  of  these  settlers  came  from 
Alleghany  county,  New  York,  about  1842.  One  of  their  early  and  very 
important  institutions  was  an  academy  organized  in  1853.  Prominent 
among  the  early  leaders  in  this  educational  institution  were  Dr.  C.  R. 
Head  and  Professor  A.  R.  Cornwall.  Among  the  prominent  alumni  are 
the  late  Senator  Knute  Nelson  of  Minnesota  and  Prof.  Rasmus  B. 
Anderson,  Congressman  H.  C.  Adams,  Chief  Justice  C.  V.  Bardeen  and 
Dairy  and  Food  Commissioner  J.  Q.  Emery  all  of  Wisconsin.  This 
church  was  organized  at  Albion  in  1843.  Another  church  was  organized 
near  Utica  in  1850.  The  latter  has  not  persisted,  as  has  the  Albion 
settlement.  The  Seventh  Day  Baptists  in  the  United  States  organized 
their  first  church  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island  in  1671.  They  are  a dis- 
tinct constituent  body.  As  their  name  indicates  they  teach  the  keeping 
of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  as  the  day  of  rest  and  worship  rather  than  Sun- 
day. 

The  Freewill  Baptists  organized  preaching  stations  at  Medina  (1845)  ; 
Belleville  (1853) ; and  Rutland.  They  date  from  the  year  1780  and 
originated  in  New  Hampshire.  In  distinction  from  other  Baptists,  they 
are  anti-Calvanistic  and  open  communion  Baptist.  They  were  very  active 
in  anti-slavery  agitation.  The  Adventist  movement  drew  away  many  of 
their  members.  Recent  efforts  have  been  made  to  unite  with  the 
Northern  Baptist  Convention  but  thus  far  without  success.  None  of 
their  churches  remain  in  the  county. 

The  Congregationalists — Congregational  societies  were  organized  at 
Black  Earth  (1853);  Stoughton  (1863);  Mazomanie  (1853);  Medina; 
Sun  Prairie;  Windsor;  York.  As  a denomination,  they  owe  their 
origin  to  the  Pilgrim  Church  at  Plymouth,  Massachusetts.  The 
Plymouth  colonists  brought  with  them  an  organized  congregation,  that 
formed  at  Scrooby,  England,  in  1606.  The  germs  of  Congregationalism 
may  be  found  in  the  Separatist  movement  of  Queen  Elizabeth’s  time. 
The  followers  of  this  movement  believed  that  each  congregation  was  a 
separate  religious  community  and  should  be  ruled  independently  of 
the  state  or  any  other  church.  To  the  present  day  this  is  one  of  the  un- 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


31 


derlying  principles  of  Congregationalism.  They  hold,  nevertheless,  to 
cooperation  and  fellowship  among  the  churches.  The  Congrega- 
tionalists  were  strict  Calvanists.  Calvin,  it  will  be  remembered,  es- 
tablished his  model  “theocracy”  at  Geneva,  which  in  many  respects 
became  the  model  of  American  Puritan  commonwealths.  They  have  been 
very  active  in  missionary  and  especially  educational  work.  Important 
educational  institutions  founded  by  them  are  Harvard,  Yale  and  Oberlin 
Universities,  as  well  as  Mt.  Holyoke,  Smith  and  Wellesley,  among 
women’s  colleges.. 

The  Evangelical  Association — In  the  early  days  this  denomination 
performed  a useful  service  in  ministering  to  the  unchurched  German 
immigrants.  The  Evangelical  Association  missionaries  were  the  first  to 
hold  services  among  them  in  Madison  and  the  surrounding  country. 
They  began  this  work  in  1844.  In  1853  they  organized  a church  in 
Cottage  Grove  township  and  about  1858  at  Mazomanic.  In  all  they 
had  nine  organizations  in  the  county,  all  of  which  have  been  d>banded, 
excepting  the  church  in  Madison.  An  example  of  what  has  happened 
to  these  organizations  is  the  story  of  the  abandoned  church  near  the 
present  German  Lutheran  Church  at  Hope,  in  Cottage  Grove  township. 
The  Evangelical  Association  was  the  first  to  begin  work  among  the 
German  settlers  in  that  vicinity  who  had  been  Lutherans  in  their  native 
land.  Later  the  Lutherans  established  an  organization.  Although  the 
Evangelical  Association  maintained  itself  until  very  recently,  they  were 
compelled  to  abandon  the  church  and  the  Lutherans  now  hold  the  field. 
This  denomination  was  formed  under  the  leadership  of  Jacob  Albright, 
a layman  trained  in  youth  in  the  Lutheran  faith,  later  becoming  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Church.  He  was  ordained  by  his  own 
followers  in  1803,  in  which  year  the  first  general  meeting  was  held. 
Like  the  Methodists  in  England,  followers  of  Hauge  in  Norway  and 
the  Pietists  in  Germany,  with  their  emphasis  upon  the  need  of  con- 
version and  an  inner  experience  of  the  religious  life,  so  these 
“Albrechtsleute”  (Albright  people),  as  they  were  often  called,  in- 
augurated a reactionary  movement  among  the  Germans  in  America 
against  the  formalism  and  frigid  orthodoxy  prevalent  in  their  day. 

The  Methodists — Three  separate  corporate  bodies  active  at  one  time 
or  another  in  the  county  come  under  the  classification  of  Methodists. 
Methodism  was  set  on  foot  by  John  Wesley  during  the  first  half  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  He  and  some  of  his  friends  were  first  called 
“Methodists”  in  derision  of  their  methodical  habits  of  life  at  Oxford. 
In  theology  nearly  all  Methodists  hold  to  Arminianism  as  opposed  to 
Calvinism.9  They  came  out  of  the  Episcopal  church  in  England,  as  a 
revolt  against  its  formalism  and  neglect  of  the  masses. 

9Calvinism  as  defined  in  the  Standard  Dictionary  consists  of  five  points : 
(1)  God  elects  individuals  to  be  saved.  (2)  He  designs  complete  redemption 
for  these  elect  only.  (3)  Fallen  man  is  of  himself  incapable  of  true  faith  and 
repentance.  (4)  God’s  grace  is  efficacious  for  the  salvation  of  the  elect. 
(5)  A soul  once  regenerated  and  converted  is  never  ultimately  lost. 

Arminianism  by  the  same  authority  is  opposed  to  these  five  articles  and  the 
following  are  its  five  points:  (1)  Conditional  election;  (2)  Universal  redemp- 
tion; (3)  Salvation  by  grace,  with  which  grace,  however,  man  can  cooperate; 
(4)  Grace  not  irresistible;  (5)  Falling  from  grace  possible. 


32 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  with  its  characteristic  pioneer  zeal 
held  stated  services  or  had  organizations  at  the  followng  places  : 
Black  Earth  (1844)  ; Horeb  Corners  (Mt.  Horeb)  and  Blue  Mounds 
(1854);  Cambridge  (1848);  Cottage  Grove;  Stoughton  (1867);  Mazo- 
inanie  (1856);  Marshall  (1869);  Dane;  Medina  Township  (1876);  Belle- 
ville (1847);  Paoli  (1850);  Oregon  (1848);  Primrose  Township; 
Brooklyn;  Syene  Prairie;  Springdale  Township;  Sun  Prairie;  Vermont 
Township;  Verona  Township;  Windsor  Township ; York:  Township. 
Some  of  their  work . is  conducted  in  the  Norwegian  and  German 
languages.  The  church  at  Cambridge  is  the  oldest  Norwegian  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  in  the  world.  The  first  religious  organizations  among 
the  Germans  appear  to  have  been  those  of  this  church  and  of  the 
Evangelical  Association.  The  Methodist  movement  early  spread  to 
America,  the  first  American  Conference  being  held  at  Philadelphia  in 
1773.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  strongest  American  churches  and 
spread  to  Wisconsin  with  the  westward  tide  of  immigration.  The 
church  is  connectional  in  organization  and  episcopal  in  government.10 
It  has  had  a phenomenal  growth  in  the  United  States.  The  missionary 
and  educational  work  of  this  church  are  noteworthy,  Northwestern, 
Syracuse  and  Boston  universities  being  among  the  most  important  of 
its  higher  institutions  of  learning. 

The  Primitive  Methodists  are  of  English  origin.  This  body  is  the 
church  of  the  English  settlers  of  the  eastern  part  of  Albion  Township. 
Another,  no  longer  in  existence,  was  organized  near  Mazomanie.  This 
body  organized  in  England  in  1810  as  a result  of  an  effort  to  revive  the 
spirit  of  the  ancient  days  of  Wesley  and  Whitfield,  hence  the  name 
“Primitive”  Methodists. 

The  Free  Methodists  at  one  time  had  an  organization  in  Medina 
Township.  This  denomination  dates  from  1860  and  was  formed  as  a 
result  of  an  agitation  in  the  Genesee  Conference  of  the  Mbthodist 
Episcopal  Church.  It  was  declared  that  the  church  was  too  lenient 
in  tolerating  worldly  practices  and  contradictory  in  its  teaching  of 
entire  sanctification.  In  government  and  general  practices  it  is  simlar  to 
the  mother  church. 

The  Moravian  Church — A church  among  the  German  settlers  in 
Windsor  township  was  established  by  the  Moravian  denomination  in 
1885,  and  in  the  following  year  in  the  village  of  London.  The  Moravian 
church,  in  church  history  often  called  the  Unity  of  the  Brethren, 
traces  its  origin  to  Bohemia  and  Moravia,  where  the  Ancient  Unitas 
Fratrum  was  organized  in  1567  by  followers  of  John  Huss.  Persecuted 
in  the  land  of  its  origin,  its  members  fled  to  the  estate  of  Count 
Zinzendorff  in  Saxony.  Under  his  leadership  this  church,  which  had 


10This  policy  denotes  (1)  that  the  various  conferences  are  presided  over  by 
bishops,  one  bishop  having  charge  of  several  conferences,  the  denominational 
funds,  however,  being  administered  not  by  bishops  but  by  independent  boards; 
i the  title  of  the  local  property  is  vested  not  in  the  local  church  corporation 
but  in  national  governing  body. 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


33 


been  almost  wiped  out,  was  resuscitated.  Thus  a new  religious 
movement  was  inaugurated,  which  spread  to  other  parts  of  Europe, 
to  England,  and  in  1741  to  America.  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania  was 
settled  by  them  and,  became  the  center  of  missionary  activity  among 
the  early  German  settlers  and  among  the  Indians.  Its  missionary  work 
among  the  German  immigrants  in  the  Western  States  resulted  in  the 
establishment  of  the  churches  in  the  county.  In  religious  history  it 
is  chiefly  known  for  its  pioneer  missionary  zeal. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States— The  Presbyterian 
Church  began  its  service  at  Blue  Mounds  (1852) ; Cambridge  (1847)  ; 
Verona  and  Belleville  (1847)  ; Oregon.  Scotland  is  the  native  home 
and  John  Knox,  leader  of  the  Scotch  reformers,  is  the  father  of 
Presbyterianism.  Some  of  the  present  members  of  the  Cambridge 
church  were  born  in  Scotland.  There  are  many  varieties  of  Ameri- 
can Presbyterianism  for  it  is  as  diverse  as  are  the  people  who  have 
blended  to  form  the  American  nation.  The  first  churches  in  America 
originated  in  New  England,  Maryland,  Delaware  and  Virginia.  They 
were  in  large  part  of  English  origin,  their  pastors  being  Church-of- 
England  ministers  holding  Presbyterian  views.  This  church  is  still 
represented  in  various  parts  of  the  county  as  the  maps  indicate. 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church — English  settlers  organized 
Protestant  Episcopal  churches  at  Mazomanie  and  at  Black  Earth. 
This  church  does  not  appear  in  the  United  States  census  report  for 
Dane  county  before  1860.  This  organization,  however,  established  itself 
in  Madison  in  1839,  the  preliminary  steps  toward  its  organization  being 
taken  on  July  25  of  that  year,  and  complete  organization  taking  place 
in  the  spring  of  1840  with  16  signers.  As  far  as  can  be  ascertain- 
ed this  was  the  first  church  organized  in  Dane  County.  The  Protestant 
Episcopal  church  is  the  lineal  descendant  and  successor  in  America  of 
the  Church  of  England.  Its  history  in  America  begins  with  the  voyages 
of  Englishmen  in  this  direction  and  is  one  of  the  very  oldest  of  Ameri- 
can churches. 

The  Reformed  Church  in  the  United  States — To  the  Swiss  settlers 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  county  belongs  the  Reformed  Church. 
Although  the  Swiss  immigration  is  of  comparatively  recent  date,  un- 
like that  of  the  Germans  and  the  Norwegians,  these  settlers  did  not 
establish  separate  constituent  organizations,  but  affiliated  themselves 
with  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  United  States.  This  body  is,  however, 
of  Swiss  and  German  origin,  but  it  is  also  one  of  the  oldest  American 
Protestant  denominations.  The  first  congregation  was  formed  at 
Germania  Ford,  on  the  Rapidan,  Virginia,  in  1710,  and  the  first  synod 
meeting  was  held  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  in  1747.  It  has  always 
felt  a special  affinity  for  the  Presbyterian  Church  since  John  Knox, 
the  Scotch  reformer,  was  a contemporary  and  an  admirer  of  Calvin, 
whose  doctrines  have  become  the  special  heritage  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  using  the  term  now  in  its  narrower  sectarian  sense. 


34 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


The  Universalists — A congregation  at  Stoughton  was  formed  by  Uni- 
versalists.  This  denomination  arose  in  America  with  the  preaching 
of  John  Murray.  It  espouses  the  doctrine  of  final  salvation  for  all, 
hence  the  name.  Murray  began  preaching  in  America  in  1770,  itinerat- 
ing from  Virginia  to  New  Hampshire.  ' 

The  United  Brethren  in  Christ — At  one  time  the  United  Brethren 
had  an  organization  in  Rutland  Township.  This  body  originated  in 
Pennsylvania  in  1800,  under  the  leadership  of  Philip  Otterbein,  a 
missionary  of  the  German  Reformed  Church.  In  some  respects  its 
government  is  similar  tto  that  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In 
doctrine  it  is  Arminian.  The  United  Brethren  were  strenuous  op- 
ponents of  slavery. 

Federation  Movements  Among  the  “Reformed”  Bodies — The  most 
significant  step  in  the  direction  of  closer  cooperation  among  these 
churches  was  taken  wTith  the  organization  of  the  Federal  Council  of 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America  made  up  of  the  constituent  bodies  shown 
in  Chart  III.  It  was  formed  in  1908  when  representatives  of  thirty- 
one  denominations  ’ and  communions,  elected  and  authorized  by  their 
highest  ecclesiastical  judicatories,  bound  themselves  together  in  a 
National  Federation,  with  a constituency  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  churches,  with  something  like  seventeen  million  members, 
and  representing,  through  family  relations,  about  fifty  millions  of 
people.  It  is  especially  to  be  noted  that  the  Council  is  an  official,  or- 
ganized instrumentality  just  as  definite  in  its  constitution  as  the  de- 
nominations themselves.11  It  includes  practically  all  the  more  im- 
portant non-Lutheran  or  the  “Reformed”  churches,  as  they  are 
characterized  by  church  historians.  Of  the  Lutheran  churches,  the 
General  Synod  was  formerly  a constituent  body  of  this  Federal 
Council.12  When  the  United  Lutheran  Church  was  formed  the 
question  of  its  relation  to  the  Federal  Council  came  up  and  is  now 
under  consideration  by  its  Executive  Committee.  Its  present  status  is 
that  of  a consultative  body.  All  the  “Reformed”  churches  of  the 
county,  with  the  excepton  of  the  Seventh-Day  Adventists  and  the 
Universalists  are  constituent  members  of  the  Federal  Council.  It 
should  be  noted  that  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  is  affiliated  with 
the  Federal  Council  only  through  its  Commissions  on  Christian  Unity 
and  Social  Service. 

The  Streams  Flow  Together 

The  settlement  period  in  the  county  lasted  until  about  1870.  Successive 
waves  of  people  came  on,  each  with  its  own  social  heritage,  a part  of 
which  was  to  be  contributed  to  the  common  life.  As  the  years  have 

nTlie  Quadrennial  Session  of  the  Federal  Council,  Homiletic  Review,  Dec., 
1912,  p.  429. 

’-Warburton,  S.  R.,  Op.  cit.,  p.  238. 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


35 


Chart  III. — Federal  Council  of  Churches  of  Christ  in  America, 
Constituent  Bodies* 

Churches  in  county  are  marked  with  a cross. 


Baptist  Churches,  North 
National  Baptist  Convention 
Free  Baptist  Churches 

Christian  Reformed  Church  in  North  America 
Churches  of  God  in  N.A.  (General  Eldership) 
Congregational  Churches 
Disciples  of  Christ 


Friends 

Evangelical  Synod  of  N.A. 
Evangelical  Association 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South 


African  M.  E.  Church 
African  M.  E.  Zion  Church 
Colored  M.  E.  Church  in  America 
Methodist  Protestant  Church 
x Moravian  Church 

x Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A. 

Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  South 
x Primitive  Methodist  Cnurch 

x Protestant  Episcopal  Commissions  on  Christian  Unity 
and  Social  Service 
Reformed  Church  in  America 
x Reformed  Church  in  the  U.  S. 

Reformed  Episcopal  Church 

Reformed  Presbyterian  Church  (General  Synod) 
x Seventh  Day  Baptist  Churches 
United  Brethren  Church 
United  Evangelical  Church 
Welsh  Presbyterian  Church 


1 


Federal  Council 
> of  Churches  of  Christ 
in  America  (1908) 


CONSULTATIVE  BODY 

x United  Lutheran  Church  J 


*This  chart  is  based  on  information  found  in  Year  Book  of  the  Churches,  1920, 
by  Stacy  R.  Warburton. 


moved  along  these  streams  have  run  together,  some  have  intermingled, 
some  have  been  superseded,  but  all  have  been  spread  out  together 
over  the  whole  county.  Frequently  group  identity  has  been  maintained, 
but  frequently  also  one  group  has  slowly  replaced  another  or  has  given 
of  its  life  in  the  formation  of  new  groups.  The  study  of  the  neighbor- 
hood or  primary  groups  in  the  county  shows  this  tendency  rather 
definitely.  The  121  groups  found  were  classified  according  to  the 
predominating  nationality  first,  when  the  group  was  originally  recogniz- 
ed and,  second,  on  the  basis  of  its  present  composition.  This  tabulation 
shows  that  only  nine  fell  in  a “mixed”  classification  when  considered 
originally,  while  sixty-four  or  over  fifty  per  cent  fall  in  this  class  at 
the  present  time.13 

Among  the  religious  groupings  a similar  tendency  of  intermingling 
or  coming  together  is  clearly  distinguishable.  For  example,  by  1890  all 
the  denominations  which  were  destined  to  play  a part  in  the  religious 


13Kolb,  J.  H.  Rural  Primary  Groups,  Bui.  51,  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.,  Univei*sity  of 
Wisconsin,  page  26. 


36 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


history  of  the  county  had  pretty  firmly  established  themselves.  In  this 
year,  moreover,  a larger  number  of  groups  was  active  than  at  any 
other  period.  It  is  shown  clearly  in  Table  VIII  that  there  were 
twenty-nine  religious  bodies  in  existence.  ' At  present  this  number  is 
reduced  to  seventeen.  Table  VII  also  shows  that  what  have  been 


Fig.  10. — The  Streams  Flow  Together  in  Western  Dane  County 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


37 


Fig.  11. — The  Streams  Flow  Together  in  Eastern  Dane  County 


38 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


termed  the  “Reformed”  churches  were  the  first  to  establish  them- 
selves in  the  county.  In  1850  only  one  Lutheran  and  one  Roman 
Catholic  church  were  reported.  Even  in  1870  sixty-four  of  the  eighty- 
four,  or  76  per  cent  were  “Reformed”  churches.  While  no  figures  are 
available  to  show  the  number  of  organizations  in  1890,  Table  VIII  in- 
dicates the  marked  growth  of  Lutheran  and  Roman  Catholic  organiza- 
tions. By  this  time  the  membership  of  either  of  these  groups  was 
larger  than  the  “Reformed”  group. 


Thus  the  religious  groups  of  today  are  in  the  midst  of  readjustments 
occasioned  by  their  past  attempting  to  grapple  with  the  present.  This 
becomes  the  subject  of  the  next  chapter. 


TENDENCIES  AND  PROBLEMS  OF  READJUSTMENT 


What  has  happened  in  the  past  not  only  helps  to  explain  the 
present  but  also  furnishes  clues  to  understanding  certain  trends  in 
the  future.  The  past,  furthermore,  has  moulded  the  present.  It  has 
determined  and  passed  on  the  structure  of  modern  rural  religious  or- 
ganization. The  religious  organization  of  an  area  like  Dane  County, 
then,  is  an  accretion  of  groups  which  cling  to  the  forms  and  traditions 
they  have  inherited.  The  result  is  not  only  an  interesting  social 
phenomenon  but  a practical  situation  which  presents  difficult  problems 
to  churchmen,  both  clergy  and  laity. 


Table  VIII. — Dane  County  Churches  by  Denominations  and  Communicant 
Membership  for  1890,  1906  and  1916. 


Communicant  Membership 

Years 

1890 

1906 

1916 

Total  membershiD 

22,353 

32,073 

39,507 

Adventist  bodies 

Advent  Christian 

23 

Seventh  Day  Adventist 

55 

117 

128 

Baptist  bodies 

Baptists  

570 

685 

827 

Free  Will  Baptists 

70 

Seventh  Day  Baptists 

362 

Congregational  churches 

898 

1412 

1 ,938 
285 

Evangelical  Association 

438 

256 

Lutheran  bodies 

Synodical  Conferences  (Synod  of  Wisconsin) 
United  Lutheran 

120 
1 ,041 

576 

58 

762 

431 

Lutheran  United  Danish  Church 

144 

35 

Norwegian  Lutheran  Church 

Hauge’s  Synod 

239 

377 

809 

Norwegian  Church  in  America 

1 ,574 
4,088 

2,242 
5 ,584 

2,530 

6,565 

United  Norwegian  Church 

Norwegian  Free  Church 

900 

German  Augsburg  Synod 

936 

Iowa  Synod 

1 ,240 

1 ,394 

Joint  Synod  ol  Ohio  . 

1 ,226 

906 

Methodist  bodies 

Methodist  Episcopal 

1 ,372 
60 

2,361 

3,006 

Primitive  Methodist . . 

Free  Methodist 

56 

Moravian  Church 

120 

218 

309 

Presbyterian  Church  in  U.  S 

854 

1 ,069 

1 ,649 

Protestant  Episcopal  Church 

180 

494 

811 

Reformed  Church  in  United  States 

50 

50 

449 

Roman  Catholic  Church 

9,043 

150 

12,068 

15,626 

U nitarians 

United  Brethren  in  Christ 

24 

22 

Uni  versa  list 

30 

Other  Protestant  bodies 

894 

Jewish  Congregations 

40 

300 

All  others 

62 

725 

Statistics  of  Churches  of  the  United  States,  11th.  Census  1890. 

Special  Reports,  Bureau  of  Census,  1906,  Religious  Bodies,  Part  1,  pp.  371-372. 
Special  Reports,  Bureau  of  Census,  1916,  Religious  Bod  is.  Part  1,  pp.  327-328. 


40 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


Organization  Tendencies 

The  past,  present  and  future  are  not  separate  stages  but  a continu- 
ous process.  Change  is  not  necessarily  a sign  of  weakness  or  instability, 
but  it  is  often  the  very  thing  which  sustains  life.  These  changes  take 
more  or  less  definite  forms  and  can  be  examined  as  tendencies  in 
group  organization. 

The  Present  Organization  of  the  Parishes — The  composite  laboratory 
map,  Figure  1,  gives  a graphic  picture  of  the  agglomeration  of  churches, 
pastors’  residences,  parish  boundaries,  and  circuit  lines,  together  with 


Z0  40  60  60  WO  \Z0 

Grand  Total  117 

1- 100  members  55 

Lutheran  1 6 


Roman  Catholic  z | 


Reformed 

37 

;.v;: 

101-200 

Lutheran 

6 

1 

Roman  Catholic 

7 

Reformed 

11 

P 

201  and  over 

38 

Lutheran 

25 

Roman  Catholic  13 

“Reformed” 

0 

Chart  IV. — The  Number  of  Church  Organizations  in  Dane  County  by 
Number  of  Members  and  Major  Groupings 


the  official  names  of  the  denominations.  The  parishes  are  first  to  be 
considered.  The  parish  boundaries  enclose  the  areas  of  influence  of  the 
various  churches.  On  this  map  they  appear  to  be  a maze  of  unrelated, 
overlapping  lines.  In  order  to  understand  their  relation,  the  parishes 
must  be  dissected  according  to  the  major  groupings,  namely,  the 
Lutheran,  the  Roman  Catholic  and  the  “Reformed".  If  it  is  remember- 
ed that  there  were  three  main  streams  of  settlers  who  peopled  the 
county,  roughly  corresponding  to  these  three  major  branches  of 
Western  Christianity,  the  apparent  enigma  of  the  conglomerate  nature 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


41 


oi  rural  religious  organization  may  be  particularly  explained.  On  the 
separate  parish  maps,  Figure  2 to  7 inclusive,  for  example,  there  is  a 
surprising  lack  of  overlapping.  The  apparent  confusion  is  the  result 
mainly  of  the  intermingling  throughout  the  county  of  the  various 
parishes  of  these  three  main  branches  of  the  Christian  Church  having 
as  they  do  such  different  historical  backgrounds. 

Open  County  Parishes  and  the  Neighborhood  Groups — Various 
factors  have  entered  into  the  formation  of  what  have  been  called  the 


Fig.  12. — Lutheran  Open-Country  Parishes  and  the  Neighborhoods 
Compared  for  Western  Dane  County 


42 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


Township 

Lines 


Neighborhood 

Boundaries 


Open 

Country 

Parishes 

W7///////A 

Overlapp/ng 

Parishes 


Fig.  13. — Catholic  Open-Country  Parishes  and  the  Neighborhoods 
Compared  for  Western  Dane  County 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


43 


WEST  DANE  COUNTY 


Fig.  14. — “Reformed”  Open  Country  Parishes  and  the  Neighborhood 
Compared  for  Western  Dane  County 


44 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


rural  primary  or  neighborhood  groups,  which  are  the  first  socially 
significant  groups  beyond  the  family  having  some  sense  of  local  unity.14 
Religious,  educational,  nationality,  economic,  social  and  topographical 
factors  largely  determine  these  groups.  Of  these  factors  the  religious 
is  one  ot  tne  most  important.  This  is  brought  out  very  clearly  in 
Figures  12,  13  and  14  in  which  the  parish  boundaries  have  been  super- 
imposed upon  the  neighborhood  boundaries.  The  close  relation  is 
particularly  marked  in  the  case  of  the  Lutheran  and  Roman  Catholic 
parishes.  Examples  in  point  are  those  of  the  Lutheran  parishes  of 
Primrose,  Springdale,  East  Blue  Mounds,  German  Valley,  First  Luther. 
Fitchburg  and  Danz  in  the  western  part  of  the  county.  All  these  are 
parishes  of  open  country  churches.  In  eastern  Dane  County  the  parishes 
are  usually  larger  than  the  neighborhood  of  the  corresponding  name, 
as  for  example,  Norway  Grove,  Pumpkin  Hollow,  Hope,  Liberty 
Prairie,  Deerfield,  West  Koshkonong  and  East  Koshkonong.  The 
Roman  Catholic  parish  lines,  Roxbury,  Ashton,  Pine  Bluff  and  Spring 
Valley  in  the  western  half  of  the  county,  follow  the  neighborhood 
lines  closely.  In  the  eastern  half,  as  at  East  Bristol  and  Westport,  the 
parishes  are  larger  than  the  neighborhoods.  Only  rarely  do  the  parish 
boundaries  of  the  “Reformed”  bodies  follow  those  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. Montrose  and  Mounds  Creek  in  the  western  part  and  Token 
Creek,  North  Windsor,  York  and  Albion  in  the  eastern  are  instances. 
This  is  due  no  doubt  to  the  fact  that  there  are  very  few  open  country 
churches  of  the  “Reformed”  bodies.  It  is  clear  then  that  in  the  case 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  and  particularly  of  the  Lutheran  churches  in 
this  county,  religion  is  a powerful  groupmaking  factor.  In  the  creation 
of  these  groups,  of  course,  nationality  also  played  a leading  part  es- 
pecially in  the  early  days. 

The  “Reformed”  parishes  are  located  mainly  where  the  eastern 
American  and  English  population  elements  settled  in  the  early  days. 
At  that  time  many  of  these  groups  were  of  considerable  size.  These 
historical  neighborhoods  have  in  many  cases  disappeared  and  the 
present  parishes  are  often  smaller  than  the  original  neighborhoods, 
which  represent  what  is  left  of  the  early  group.  The  Lutheran  and 
Roman  Catholic  parish  groups  have  grown  and  expanded  and  are 
crowding  or  have  crowded  out  beyond  these  original  smaller  groups. 
In  contrast  to  the  Roman  Catholic  and  Lutheran  parishes,  those  of 
the  “Reformed”  bodies  are  not  very  dense  and  often  represent  only  a 
few  scattered  families.  In  the  case  then  of  the  “Reformed”  bodies, 
religion  today  is  not  playing  such  a leading  role  in  the  holding  of  these 
neighborhood  groups  as  is  the  case  with  the  parishes  of  the  other 
major  bodies. 

The  breaking  up  of  these  smaller  religious  groups  often  presents  a 
peculiarly  difficult  local  problem.  The  Brerton  church  at  Acorn  is 
such  an  example.  In  that  locality  there  was  an  early  Ohio  settlement. 


14Kolb  J.  H.  Rural  Primary  Groups . Res.  Bui.  51  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.,  University 
of  Wisconsin. 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


45 


Many  of  the  pople  were  graduates  of  Oberlin.  They  had  a well-or- 
ganized church,  a resident  pastor  and  an  excellent  school.  Later  on 
German  settlers  came  in,  who  were  divided  religiously  between  the 
Lutheran  church  at  Hickory  Hill  and  the  Catholic  church  at  Martins- 
ville. The  Brerton  church  is  now  practically  abandoned  because  of 
lack  of  members.  Farms  have  changed  hands  and  maiiy  of  the 
original  settlers  have  moved  away.  The  problem  is  one  of  incomplete 
readjustment.  One  of  the  families,  for  instance,  is  at  a loss  to  know 


iBlANCHARD  I . 

mie  1 


Brooklyn 


Fig.  15. — Lutheran  Village  Parishes  and  the  Trade  Areas  Compared 
for  Western  Dane  County 


46 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


New  Glarus 

iBLANCHARD 

I villLi  i 


Fig.  16. — Catholic  Village  Parishes  and  the  Trade  Area  Compared  for 
Western  Dane  County 


Rural  Religions  Organization 


47 


iftlANCHARD  I 
V'LUtj 1 


Fig.  17. — The  “Reformed”  Village  Parishes  and  Trade  Areas  Compared 
for  Western  Dane  County 


48 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


whether  to  try  to  keep  the  old  church  going  by  encouraging  the  son 
to  remain  on  the  farm,  or  to  throw  all  its  allegiance  to  the  Lodi  church, 
sell  the  farm  and  encourage  the  son  to  settle  at  a place  where  he  will 
be  among  people  with  religious  traditions  more  nearly  like  his  own. 

Village  Parishes  and  the  Trade  Areas — There  is  a rough  sort  of 
correspondence  between  the  parish  boundaries  of  churches  located  in 
villages  and  small  towns  and  the  trade  areas  of  these  various  centers. 
Often  the  single  parishes  do  not  include  the  entire  trade  area  as  at 
Verona,  Mt.  Horeb,  and  Cross  Plains.  Taken  together,  however,  all 
the  parishes  of  churches  located  in  a population  center  usually  in- 
clude all  of  the  trade  area  or  that  part  which  is  not  included  within 
the  limits  of  open  country  neighborhood  groups.  In  this  county  a 
church  is  the  church  of  a group  rather  than  of  the  community  for 


Table  IX. — Correlation  Between  Size  of  Church  and  Location 


Size  of 

Membership 

Major 

Grouping 

Numb 

er  of  cl 

[lurches  with  respect  to 
location 

All 

City 

Vil- 

lage 

Ham- 

let 

Open 

country 

Grand  total 

117 

10 

45 

23 

39 

Total 

55 

4 

22 

14 

15 

1-100 

Lutheran 

16 

6 

6 

4 

6 

Roman  Catholic 

2 

0 

0 

2 

0 

“Reformed” 

37 

4 

16 

8 

9 

Total 

24 

1 

14 

5 

4 

101-200 

Lutheran 

6 

0 

3 

1 

2 

Roman  Catholic 

7 

0 

5 

0 

2 

“Reformed” 

11 

1 

6 

4 

0 

Total 

38 

5 

9 

4 

20 

201  and  over 

Lutheran 

25 

4 

4 

2 

15 

Roman  Catholic 

13 

1 

5 

2 

5 

“Reformed” 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

even  where  the  trade  area  boundaries  and  the  parish  lines  correspond, 
many  of  the  people  within  these  limits  often  go  to  different  churches. 

The  tendency  of  the  "Reformed”  parishes  to  center  about  some 
hamlet  or  village  is  striking.  Their  parishes  are  in  the  main  com- 
paratively small,  although  in  quite  a large  number  of  cases  they  ex- 
tend to  the  limits  of  the  trade  area  but  the  membership  of  such 
parishes  is  sparsely  distributed. 

Relations  Between  the  Open  Country  and  the  Village  Parishes — How 

efficiently  a church  in  some  population  center  ministers  to  the  open 
country  population  is  a question  often  discussed.  In  this  county,  ac- 
cording to  Table  IX.  there  is  a surprisingly  large  number  of  large 
open  country  churches  for  of  the  38  churches  with  a membership  of 
over  200,  twenty  are  located  in  the  open  country.  With  what  success 
the  remaining  18,  located  in  some  center,  reach  the  farmer  cannot  be 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


49 


determined  with  absolute  accuracy  from  the  data  in  hand,  but  it  is 
obvious  that  many  of  their  members  live  in  the  village  or  city ; never- 
theless these  parishes  have  a large  farmer  constituency.  Apparently 
in  this  county  churches  located  in  some  center  are  just  as  successful  in 
reaching  the  farmer  as  are  those  in  the  open  country,  although  in 
one  town  a certain  church  was  referred  to  as  a farmers’  church  in  con- 
trast with  another  which  drew  its  members  more  exclusively  from  the 
residents  of  the  town. 

The  small  church  seems  to  thrive  best  in  the  population  centers. 
This  is  perhaps  because  the  old  American  element  of  which  most  of 
the  small  churches  are  composed  has  drifted  to  these  centers.  It  is  also 
significant  that  of  the  open  country  churches  slightly  over  half  have 
a membership  of  over  200. 

The  Church  Membership — The  combined  membership  of  the  rural 
churches  in  the  county  numbers  21,504,  as  appears  in  Table  III.  Of 
these  7,226  belong  to  open  country  churches,  1,449  to  hamlet,  9,662  to 
village  and  3,167  to  city^  churches.  The  Lutherans  comprise  over  half 
of  the  total  membership ; the  Roman  Catholic  nearly  one-third  and  the 
“Reformed”  slightly  more  than  one-sixth. 

The  Lutherans  have  a combined  membership  of  11,218.  Approxi- 
mately half  of  these  belong  to  open  country  churches.  The  Lutheran 
population  belonging  to  open  country  churches  comprises  one-fourth 
of  the  total  church  membership  of  the  county,  and  of  this  population 
four-fifths  belong  to  the  Norwegian  Lutherans.  Of  the  Norwegian 
Lutherans  in  turn,  about  one-half  belong  to  open  country  churches. 
The  German  Lutherans,  namely  the  Synodical  Conference,  the  Joint 
Ohio  and  the  Iowa  Synods,  are  divided  in  about  the  same  proportion 
while  the  English  Lutherans  have  their  churches  and  most  of  their 
constituency  in  the  villages.  In  Perry  Township  the  Norwegian  Luther- 
ans have  an  open  country  church  of  over  1,000  members. 

The  Roman  Catholics  have  about  one-third  of  their  constituency  in 
the  open-country  churches.  The  remainder  belongs  to  churches  in  vil- 
lage or  hamlet.  These  latter  have  also  a very  strong  farmer  con- 
stituency. For  example,  at  Cross  Plains,  a hamlet,  there  is  a church 
with  over  800  members. 

The  “Reformed”  churches  have  their  main  strength  in  city,  village, 
and  hamlet,  less  than  one-tenth  of  their  members  belonging  to  open 
country  churches.  About  two-fifths  of  their  total  membership  are 
Methodists.  The  Congregationalists,  the  Reformed  Church  in  the 
United  States,  and  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  fol- 
low in  order  in  point  of  numbers. 

Size  of  the  Congregations — The  churches  of  the  county  were  ar- 
rayed according  to  size  in  Table  X.  Of  the  117  churches  nearly  one- 
fourth  have  a membership  of  50  or  less ; nearly  one-half  100  or  less, 
and  nearly  two-thirds  150  or  less.  The  largest  number  of  small  churches 
falls  in  the  lot  of  the  “Reformed”  bodies,  and  none  of  these  are  larger 


50 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


Table  X. — County  Churches  Classified  According  to  Size  and 
Denominational  Groups 


Classes  of 
Membership 

Num 

ber  of  churches  and  the  major  gi 

oups 

All  churches 

Lutheran 

Roman 

Catholic 

“Reformed” 

Total 

117 

47 

22 

48 

1-50 

28 

8 

0 

20 

51-100 

28 

8 

3 

17 

101-150 

14 

4 

4 

6 

151-200 

11 

2 

4 

5 

201-250 

11 

11 

0 

0 

251-300 

9 

5 

4 

0 

301-350 

0 

0 

0 

0 

351-400 

4 

2 

2 

0 

401-500 

3 

2 

1 

0 

501-600 

3 

1 

2 

0 

601-800 

3 

2 

1 

0 

801-1000 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1001-1200 

3 

2 

1 

0 

In  Table  XI  the  relation  between  the  size  of  congregations  and  the 
frequency  of  Sunday  services  is  shown.  In  general  there  seems  to  be 
a tendency  on  the  part  of  the  smaller  “Reformed”  congregations  to 
have  more  frequent  services. 


Table  XI. — Frequency  of  Sunday  Services  in  Relation  to  Size  of  Church 
Membership  and  Major  Grouping 


Size  of 
Churches 

Major 

Groupings 

Number 

of 

Churches 

Twice  a 
week 

Once  a 
week 

Once  in 
2 weeks 

Once  a 
month 

Grand  total  ... 

117 

13 

61 

32 

11 

Total 

55 

8 

25 

15 

7 

1-200 

Lutheran 

16 

0 

6 

8 

2 

Roman  Catholic 

2 

0 

2 

0 

0 

“Reformed” 

37 

8 

17 

7 

5 

Total 

24 

5 

10 

8 

1 

101-200 

Lutheran 

6 

0 

1 

4 

1 

Roman  Catholic 

7 

0 

5 

2 

. 0 

“Reformed” 

11 

5 

4 

2 

0 

Total 

38 

0 

26 

9 

3 

Lutheran 

25 

0 

13 

9 

3 

201  and  over 

Roman  Catholic 

13 

0 

13 

0 

0 

“Reformed” 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Rural  Religious  Organization 


51 


than  200.  Their  churches  are  situated  in  centers  of  population  and 
what  material  there  is  for  membership  is  divided  among  competing 
churches.  The  most  frequent  size  of  the  Lutheran  churches  lies  be- 
tween 201  and  250  members.  Over  half  of  their  churches  have  more 


Table  XII. — Churches  with  Resident  and  Non-Resident  Pastors  and  Dis- 
tances Traveled  by  the  Non-Resident  Pastor 


Grouping 

Constituent 

bodies 

Churches  with  resident  and  noi 
with  distances  traveled  by  nor 

i-resident  pastor 
i-resident  pastor 

All 

churches 

Churches 

with 

resident 

pastor 

Churches 

with 

non-resi- 

dent 

pastor 

Distances  in 
miles  traveled 
by  non-resident 
pastor 

1-4 

5-9 

10  and 
over 

Total 

117 

64 

53 

20 

21 

12 

Total 

47 

19 

28 

12 

10 

(T 

United 

Lutheran 

3 

0 

3 

1 

1 

i 

Lutheran 

Synod. 

bodies 

Conference  .... 

4 

2 

2 

0 

0 

2 

Norwegian 

Lutheran 

27 

13 

14 

7 

6 

1 

Joint  Ohio 

7 

2 

5 

3 

1 

1 

Iowa  Synod 

6 

2 

4 

1 

2 

1 

Roman 

Roman 

Catholic 

Catholic 

22 

17 

5 

1 

3 

1 

Total 

48 

28 

20 

7 

8 

5 

Seventh  Day 

Adventist  

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

“Reformed” 

Baptist 

2 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

bodies 

Seventh  Day 

Baptist 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Congregational 

7 

4 

3 

2 

0 * 

1 

Methodist 

Episcopal 

22 

12 

10 

5 

5 

0 

Primitive 

Methodist 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Moravian 

2 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Presbyterian 

6 

3 

3 

0 

1 

2 

Protestant 

Episocpal 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

1 

Reformed  in 

U.  S 

4 

1 

3 

0 

2 

1 

Universalist 

1 

. 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

than  200  members.  The  Roman  Catholics  have  no  churches  with  50 
members  or  less  and  over  half  of  their  number  have  over  200  mem- 
bers. There  are  two  Lutheran  and  one  Roman  Catholic  chuurch  of 
over  1000  members. 


52 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


Table  XIII. — Average  Number  of  Members  Served  by  a Pastor  and  the 
Average  Size  of  the  Congregations 


Major  groups 

Constituent  bodies 

Average  number  of 
and  for 

members  for  pastors 
churches 

Average  Member- 
ship per  pastor 

Average  Member- 
ship per  church 

Average  of  totals  .. 

263  .D 

179.9 

Average  of  totals.... 

385.3 

229.5 

Lutheran  bodies 

United  Luth. 

96.6 

96.6 

Synod,  Conference 

132.5 

132.5 

Nor.  Luth 

576.3 

320.1 

Jt.  Ohio 

315.0 

90.0 

Iowa  Synod 

173.7 

115.8 

Roman  Catholic 

Roman  Catholic 

411.9 

299.5 

Average  of  totals.  .. 

101.8 

76.4 

Seventh  Day 

Adventist 

17.0 

17.0 

"Reformed'’ 

Baotist 

100.0 

100.0 

bodies 

Seventh  Day 

Baptist 

180.0 

180.0 

Congregational 

101.4 

72.4 

M.  Bp. 

90.2 

69.7 

Prim.  M.  E 

57.0 

57.0 

Moravian 

125.5 

125.5 

Presbyterian 

95.2 

63.5 

Prot.  Epis 

37.0 

37.0 

Ref.  in  U.  S 

226.5 

113.2 

Universalist 

50.0 

Table  XIV. — Length  of  Pastorates  by  Years  of  Service* 


Grouping 

Constituent  bodies 

Number 

of 

pastors 

Yea 

irs  of  service  in  parish 

1-3 

4-6 

7-9 

10  and 
over 

Total 

70 

37 

11 

6 

16 

Lutheran  bodies 

Total 

22 

9 

4 

9 

United  Lutheran.  .. 
Synod.  Conference.. 

Norwegian  Luth 

Joint  Ohio 

Iowa  Synod 

1 

5 

1 1 

2 

3 

4 

2 

4 

1 

6 

1 

1 

Roman  Catholic 

Roman  Catholic 

15 

4 

3 

3 

5 

‘‘Reformed’’  bodies 

Total 

33 

24 

4 

3 

2 

Seventh  Day 
Adventist 

1 

2 

1 

5 

16 

1 

2 

4 

1 

1 

Baptist 

1 

Seventh  Day 

Baptist 

1 

1 

Congregational 

Methodist  Epis 

Primitive  Meth 

M ora  vi  a n 

4 

13 

2 

3 

1 

1 

1 

Presbyterian 

Protestant  Epis..  . 

1 

Reformed  in  U.  S... 
U ni  versalist 

1 

1 

♦Of  the  80  pastors  in  the  county,  information  regarding  years  of  service  in  par- 
i-hcs  was  secured  for  70. 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


53 


The  County  Clergy— The  total  number  of  pastors  serving  churches 
in  the  county  is  80.  Of  these  70  reside  in  the  county,  and  64  live  within 
the  area  of  their  parishes  and  are  therefore  resident  pastors.  In  Table 
XII  the  distribution  of  churches  with  resident  and  non-resident  pas- 
tors is  shown.  Those  churches  which  have  a resident  pastor  number 
64  and  those  whose  pastor  is  non-resident,  53.  The  Lutherans  have  19 
churches  with  a resident  pastor  and  28  with  a non-resident  pastor ; the 
Roman  Catholics  have  17  churches  with  a resident  pastor  and  5 with 
a non-resident  pastor,  while  the  “Reformed”  bodies  have  28  churches 
with  a resident  and  20  churches  with  a non-resident  pastor. 

Table  XV.- — Correlation  of  Membership  and  Length  of  Pastoratfs 


members 
served  by  one 
pastor 

Total 

1-3 

4-6 

7-9 

10-12 

13-15 

16-18 

19-21 

22  and 
over 

Total 

70 

37 

11 

6 

5 

0 

3 

2 

6 

1-100 

23 

19 

2 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

101-200 

16 

8 

2 

1 

3 

0 

0 

0 

2 

201-300 

8 

5 

1 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

301-400 

7 

2 

3 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

1 

401-500 

8 

3 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

2 

1 

501-600 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

601-700 

] 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

701-800 

3 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

801-900 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

901-1000 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1001-1100 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1101-1200 

2 

0 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1201  and  over 

2 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

Table  XVI. — Correlation  of  Membership  and  Length  of  Pastorates 
Grouped  by  Different  Classes  and  then  Cumulated 


Number  of  mem- 
bers served  by  one 
pastor 

Length  of  pastoral 

te  by  years  and  the  cumulations 

1 to  3 

years 

4 years 
and  over 

1 to  3 years  cu- 
mulation on  “less 
than”  plan 

4 years  and  over 
cumulated  on 
“less  than”  plan 

Total 

37 

33 

1-200 

27 

12 

27 

12 

201-400 

7 

8 

34 

20 

401-600 

3 

5 

37 

25 

601-800 

0 

4 

37 

29 

801-1000 

0 

0 

37 

29 

1001-1200 

0 

2 

37 

31 

1201  and  over.. 

0 

2 

37 

33 

The  economy  with  which  pastors  are  made  use  of  is  shown  in  Table 
XIII  in  which  it  appears  that  the  Lutherans  have  one  pastor  for  an 
average  of  229.5  members ; the  Roman  Catholics  one  for  an  average 
of  299.5  members ; and  the  “Reformed”  bodies  an  average  of  76.4  mem- 
bers per  minister. 

The  tenure  of  office  of  the  clergy  is  an  important  consideration  in 


54 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


rural  religious  organization.  It  appears  from  Table  XIV  that  47  per 
cent  of  the  pastors  remain  with  their  churches  three  years  or  less ; 
20  per  cent  serve  from  4 to  6 years  ; 12  per  cent  from  7 to  9 years ; 
while  sixteen  pastors  or  21  per  cent  were  on  their  charges  10  years  or 
more.  In  this  respect  the  Lutheran  and  the  Roman  Catholic  churches, 
having  larger  congregations,  have  a better  record  than  the  “Re- 
formed” churches. 

There  is  an  interesting  and  significant  correlation  between  the  num- 
ber of  members  a minister  serves  and  the  length  of  time  he  stays  with 
his  congregation.  The  small  pastoral  charge,  which  may  consist  of 
several  congregations,  is  the  least  successful  in  holding  its  pastor  for 
a considerable  number  of  years.  This  appears  in  Tables  XV  and  XVI. 
In  Table  XVI  the  classes  of  membership  were  grouped  into  larger 
classes  and  the  length  of  pastorate  combined  in  two  groups  of  1 to  -3 
years  and  4 years  and  over  and  then  they  were  cumulated.  These 
tables  show  that  of  the  70  cases  available  in  the  data  collected,  23 
pastors  served  a constituency  of  100  or  less.  Of  these  19  had  been  on 
their  charge  only  three  years  or  less  and  only  4 remained  for  more 
than  3 years.  In  other  words,  judging  by  the  data  collected  a congre- 
gation with  100  members  or  less  has  about  one  chance  in  six  of  keep- 
ing its  pastors  longer  than  three  years.  Let  this  be  considered  from 
another  angle.  There  were  37  pastors  who  remained  less  than  3 
years  or  about  half  the  total  number  of  pastors.  Of  these  37  pastors, 
19  or  about  one-half  served  congregations  of  100  or  less ; 27  or  over 
two-thirds  served  congregations  of  200  or  less  and  34  or  about  97 
per  cent  served  congregations  of  400  or  less.  It  would  seem,  then, 
that  the  smallness  of  these  charges  or  the  constituency  served  a single 
pastor  is  one  of  the  causes  of  the  short-time  pastorate.  This  is  due, 
undoubtedly,  either  to  the  inability  of  the  small  charge  to  furnish  ade- 
quate support  or  to  offer  a sufficently  large  field  of  service.  Or,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  might  be  said  that  the  short  term  of  office  is  re- 
sponsible for  the  smallnesss  of  the  charge.  The  former  conclusion  is 
probably  the  more  nearly  correct. 

If  now  the  larger  congregation  be  considered,  the  above  conclusion 
will  be  substantiated  and  its  corollary  will  be  established.  There  were 
47  pastors  who  served  more  than  100  members.  Of  these  29,  or  about 
three-fifths,  had  a tenure  of  office  more  than  three  years.  There  were 
31  pastors  who  had  a constituency  of  more  than  200  members  and  of 
these  21,  or  about  two-thirds,  remained  over  three  years.  In  other 
words,  the  likelihood  that  a pastor  will  remain  for  a longer  term  of 
office  increases  with  the  size  of  the  congregation.  Then,  once  more, 
there  were  33  pastors  who  remained  longer  than  three  years.  Of 
these  29,  or  about  nine-tenths,  ministered  to  more  than  100,  and  21, 
or  about  two-thirds,  ministered  to  more  than  200.  Hence  the  larger 
the  constituency,  the  more  successful  it  is  in  holding  the  pastor  for  a 
long  and  presumably  a more  efficient  pastorate. 

The  Churches,  Their  Location  and  Circuit  Relations — The  Norwe- 
gian Lutherans  have  the  largest  number  of  churches  of  any  single 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


55 


corporate  body,  namely  27,  or  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  total  number. 
The  German  Lutherans,  representing  the  Synodical  Conference  (Synod 
of  Wisconsin),  the  Joint  Synod  of  Ohio  and  the  Iowa  Synod  have  a 
total  of  17  churches,  or  nearly  one-seventh  of  the  total.  The  Roman 
Catholics  have  22  churches,  or  a little  more  than  one-fifth  of  the 
total.  The  “Reformed”  bodies  have  48  churches  or  about  two  fifths  of 
the  total.  The  latter  majQr  grouping  has  the  largest  number  of  churches 
but  the  smallest  constituency. 

The  location  of  churches,  as  indicated  in  Chapter  I,  is  further  shown 
on  the  various  church  maps,  Figures  2 to  7 inclusive.  According  to 
Table  II  two-thirds  of  the  117  county  churches  are  located  in  city,  village 
or  hamlet,  while  one-third  are  located  in  the  open  country.  The  maps 
give  a graphic  picture  of  this  tendency  to  locate  in  some  center  of 
population.  For  example,  Stoughton  has  10  churches,  Marshall,  Mazo- 
manie  and  Sun  Prairie,  each  have  five  churches;  Belleville,  Cambridge, 
Dane,  Middleton,  Mt.  Horeb,  and  Verona  each  have  four  churches ; 
Black  Earth,  Cottage  Grove  and  Oregon  have  three  churches  apiece ; 
Blue  Mounds,  Cross  Plains,  McFarland,  Paoli  and  Waunakee  each 
have  two  churches;  Albion,  Deerfield,  London  and  Mt.  Vernon  each 
have  one  church.  In  both  Christiana  and  Pleasant  Springs  Townships 
there  are  two  Norwegian  Lutheran  churches  standing  in  close  prox- 
imity to  each  other.  This  unusual  phenomena  is  the  result  of  the 
division  occurring  among  the  Norwegian  Lutherans  described  pre- 
viously. The  Hauge  Synod  was  formerly  represented  in  the  county. 
The  maps  show  that  three  of  its  churches  have  been  abandoned,  namely 
one  at  Cambridge,  one  at  Deerfield  and  one  at  Primrose.  This  is  the 
result  of  the  corporate  overhead  union  of  the  three  Norwegian  Lu- 
theran bodies.  The  circuit  lines  on  the  church  maps  show  how  va- 
rious churches  are  organized  into  one  charge  under  the  care  of  a 
single  pastor. 

Problems  in  Readjustment 

The  tendencies  described  bring  the  churchman  face  to  face  with 
problems  which  press  for  solution. 

Abandoned  Churches — Thirteen  abandoned  churches  were  found 
in  the  county,  to  which  several  others  have  been  added  since  the  field 
study  was  made.  Conversation  with  pastors  and  laymen  leads  to  the 
belief  that  the  process  of  consolidation  and  elimination  will  continue 
for  some  time.  While  more  detailed  investigation  on  this  point  might 
be  desirable,  it  seems,  nevertheless,  that  some  of  these  churches  have 
been  abandoned  because  their  membership  has  died  out  or  moved 
away,  as  is  the  case  of  the  Evangelical  Association  church  at  Hope. 

In  other  cases  a small  church  group  is  broken  up  by  reason  of  the 
greater  present  day  facility  of  transportation  and  communication.  Peo- 
ple in  such  groups  follow  the  better  routes  of  travel  to  the  larger 
centers.  One  pastor  in  the  county  testified  that  during  the  winter 
months  some  of  his  members  can  travel  six  miles  to  Madison  with 


56 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


greater  ease  than  the  two  miles  by  which  they  are  removed  from 
his  open  country  church.  Thus  the  larger  groups  grow  at  the  expense 
of  the  smaller.  A definite  illustration  is  the  case  of  the  church  at 
Swan  Creek.  This  has  been  disbanded  and  the  membership  divided 
among  nearby  larger  churches. 

In  still  other  cases  an  abandoned  church  is  the  result  of  consolida- 
tion. Examples  of  this  tendency  are  the  Lutheran  churches  in  Daley- 
ville,  Primrose  and  Deerfield.  Following  the  overhead  organization 
of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  churches,  some  of  the  local  units  have 
also  merged  to  form  larger  local  organizations. 

Overlapping  Parishes — The  composite  church  parish  map,  Fig.  1, 
shows  a maze  of  overlapping  and  intertwining  parish  boundaries. 
System  or  purpose  there  seems  to  be  none.  After  the  parish  maps 
have  been  dissected,  however,  as  has  been  done  in  Figures  2 to  7 in- 
clusive, for  each  major  grouping,  there  is  a surprising  lack  of  over- 
lapping. To  be  sure,  there  is  some,  but  not  nearly  as  much  as  in  the 
composite  parish  map.  Where  there  is  an  overlap,  it  usually  repre- 
sents the  meeting  of  heterogeneous  population  elements.  This  is  illus- 
trated at  Cottage  Grove  on  the  Lutheran  parish  map,  where  German 
and  Norwegian  Lutheran  parishes  as  well  as  several  Norwegian  Lu- 
theran parishes  overlap.  There  is  considerable  overlapping  of  Lutheran 
parishes  in  the  Stoughton  area.  At  Marshall  there  is  a small  English 
Lutheran  parish  within  a larger  German  Lutheran  parish.  The  Roman 
Catholic  groups  do  not  compete  with  one  another  and  hence  prac- 
tically no  overlapping  is  found.  Most  of  the  overlapping  is  found  on 
the  “Reformed”  parish  map.  This  is  due  to  the  greater  variety  of 
denominations  found  in  this  family  of  churches.  Thus  it  becomes  clear 
that  much  of  duplication  in  religious  organization  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  each  population  element,  whether  German,  Norwegian,  English, 
American,  Swiss,  or  Scotch,  usually  established  the  church  to  which 
it  had  traditionally  become  accustomed  in  its  former  place  of  abode. 

Unchurched  Territory — Fig.  18  gives  a graphic  representation  of  the 
unchurched  areas  in  the  western  half  of  the  county.  A similar  con- 
dition exists  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  county.  While  these  areas 
should  be  more  intensively  studied  before  final  conclusions  can  be 
drawn,  it  is  significant  that  most  of  these  areas  lie  outside  the  neigh- 
borhood boundaries,  which  condition  denotes  a lack  of  local,  social 
cohesion.  In  many  cases,  it  may  be  true  that  the  people  who  live  in 
these  unchurched  areas  are  affiliated  with  some  church  but  usually  they 
are  scattered  families  living  at  considerable  distance  from  their 
churches.  They  are,  therefore,  outside  the  real  parish  influence  and. 
presumably,  not  in  effective  relationship  with  their  church.  In  some 
cases,  such  as  Malone  Valley,  McPherson  Valley  and  Scotch  Lane, 
these  unchurched  areas  represent  small  neighborhood  groups,  pock- 
eted between  larger  and  uncongenial  groups,  and  too  weak  to  maintain 
their  own  religious  institution. 

In  other  cases  the  abandonment  of  a church  has  left  some  people 


Rural  Religious  Organization  57 


WEST  DANE  COUNTY 

; -ts*~  ~ -par" J 


Township 

Lines 


Sf  i 1 

rf  |oUNLM»  hoi| 

/ / 1 __ 

i 

/ rt  / unu  ui\nuw 

Boundaries 

rr^ — 3 

|-  LI Ji 

RINGF1EL9 

1 

rnmMM 

Unchurched 

areas 


Abandoned 

Churches 


Fig.  18. — Unchurched  Areas  and  Abandoned  Churches  for  Western  Dane 

County 


58 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


without  local  affiliation  and  therefore,  the  unchurched  territory  is  the 
result.  South  of  Middleton  two  abandoned  churches  are  located,  the 
one  within  and  the  other  in  very  close  proximity  to  unchurched  ter- 
ritory. 

The  Non-Resident  Clergy — Fifty-three  churches  in  the  county  are 
served  by  non-resident  pastors,  as  shown  by  Figures  2 to  7 inclusive, 
of  which,  however,  as  is  shown  in  Table  XII,  20  live  within  a four  mile 
radius  and  21  within  a nine  mile  radius.  Twelve  travel  ten  miles  or 
more  to  reach  their  churches  and  are,  therefore,  presumably  not  in  very 
close  touch  with  their  membership.  Among  the  Roman  Catholics  the 
proportion  of  local  resident  priests  is  the  largest.  While  the  propor- 
tion of  non-resident  pastors  among  the  Lutherans  is  large,  inspection 
of  the  parish  and  church  maps  will  show  that  often  the  group  of  par- 
ishes which  one  man  serves  constitutes  one  large  compact  parish  or 
charge,  affording  an  adequate  opportunity  to  keep  in  close  contact  with 
the  parishioners.  Thus  the  ministers  who  in  classification  appear  tech- 
nically as  nonresidents  may  in  many  cases  be  regarded  as  virtually  resi- 
dent for  two  or  three  churches. 

Many  of  the  pastors  travel  long  distances  to  their  churches.  For 
example  the  Presbyterian  pastor  living  at  Oregon  travels  18  miles  to 
serve  a church  at  Waunakee.  Many  of  the  pastors  of  the  “Re- 
formed” churches  live  at  Madison  and  sometimes  travel  more  than  20 
miles  to  their  charges. 

Nationality  and  Language  Factors — Table  IV  shows  the  correlation 
between  nationality,  or  racial  origin,  and  the  various  denominations. 
The  Lutherans  have  Norwegian  and  German  elements  in  their  con- 
stituency within  the  county.  The  Roman  Catholic  is  the  church  of  the 
Germans,  the  Irish  and  the  French.  In  the  “Reformed”  grouping 
there  is  found  every  nationality  element  except  the  Irish  and  the 
French  and  one-third  of  the  churches  have  an  American  constituency. 
Neither  the  Lutheran  nor  the  Roman  Catholic  churches  of  the  county 
have  an  old  American  constituency.  By  this  is  not  meant  that  they  are 
not  American  in  spirit  or  citizenship,  but  that  they  still  retain  some- 
thing of  the  old-world  heritage  taking  the  form  of  tradition  and  lan- 
guage. Of  the  “Reformed”  grouping,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
ministers  to  the  largest  variety  of  the  population.  The  Roman  Catho- 
lics seems  the  most  successful  in  bringing  various  elements  into  the 
same  church,  as  is  the  cases  of  Paoli,  Verona,  Dane  and  Mt.  Horeb. 

The  Norwegians  are  usually  Lutherans.  The  Germans  divide  their 
allegiance  among  the  three  groupings,  the  Lutheran,  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic, and  the  “Reformed”,  depending  usually  upon  the  province  in  Europe 
from  which  they  or  their  ancestors  came.  Over  half  of  the  German 
churches  are  Lutheran,  about  one-sixth  belong  to  the  “Reformed” 
bodies  while  the  remaining  one-third  are  Roman  Catholic.  The  old 
Americans,  the  English,  the  Scotch  and  the  Swiss  always  hold  to  one 
or  the  other  of  the  “Reformed"  bodies. 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


59 


The  languages  used  in  the  church  services  represented  in  Table  XVII 
are  the  English,  the  Norwegian  and  the  German.  English  only  is  used 
in  46  per  cent  of  the  churches ; 31  per  cent  use  German  at  some  or  all 
of  their  services ; and  23  per  cent  use  Norwegian  at  some  or  all  of  their 
services  The  Germans  retain  more  generally  the  language  of  their 
fathers,  for,  although  tfrey  settled  here  at  about  the  same  time  as  did 
the  Norwegians,  one-third  of  their  churches  use  the  German  language 
only,  while  one  out  of  twenty-seven  of  the  Norwegian  churches  use 
the  Norwegian  language  entirely.  Of  the  “Reformed’’  churches  79  per 
cent  use  the  English  language  exclusively. 


» 

Table  XVII. — Languages  Used  in  Church  Services 


Languages 

used  by  number  of  churches 

Grouping 

Constituent 

bodies 

All 

Eng- 

lish 

only 

Norwegian 

German 

only 

% 

A. 

H 

Only 

34 

A. 

Total 

117 

54 

1 

7 

16 

3 

12 

5 

15 

4 

~ , 

Total 

47 

6 

1 

7 

14 

3 

8 

3 

5 

Lutheran 

United 

Lutheran 

3 

3 

bodies 

Synod.  Con- 
ference  

4 

1 

1 

1 

1 

Norwegian 

Lutheran.. 

27 

2 

1 

7 

14 

3 

Joint  Ohio  ... 

7 

5 

2 

Iowa  Synod 

6 

2 

2 

2 

Roman 

Catholic 

22 

10 

2 

6 

3 

Total 

48 

38 

2 

2 

j 

4 

1 

Seventh 
Day  Ad- 
ventist . 

1 

1 

Baptist 

2 

2 

All  others  or 
“Reformed” 

Seventh 

Day 

Baptist  .... 
Congrega- 
tional 

1 

1 

bodies 

7 

7 

Methodist 

Episcopal 

Primitive 

Methodist 

22 

18 

2 

j 

1 

1 

1 

Moravian  .... 

2 

1 

1 

Presbyterian 
Protestant 
Episcopal 
Reformed 
in  U.  S 

6 

6 

1 

1 

4 

1 

3 

Universalist 

1 

1 

THE  FUTURE  IN  RURAL  RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATION 


The  story  of  the  developments  which  led  to  the  present  order  of 

things  in  rural  religious  organization  has  been  told.  A view  of  things 

as  they  now  are  has  been  presented.  The  chief  value  of  such  a study 
lies  in  the  fact  that  it  may  reveal  some  of  the  problems  and  may  sug- 
gest possible  solutions  to  those  who  are  responsible  for  the  future  of 

rural  religious  organization. 

Strategic  Location  of  Churches — It  would  seem  that  the  church 
located  in  some  population  center  has  the  better  chance  of  surviving, 
for  of  the  twelve  abandoned  churches  which  are  shown  in  Figures  1 
and  2,  nine  are  located  in  the  open  country  and  since  the  field  study 
was  made  others  have  been  added  to  the  list.  On  the  other  hand,  a 
large  proportion  of  successful  rural  churches,  notably  Lutheran  and 
Roman  Catholic,  are  located  in  the  open  country  and  present  indica- 
tions point  to  their  continued  usefulness  and  efficency.  It  is  a ques- 
tion, well  worth  further  investigation  and  study,  as  to  how  successful 
farmers’  churches  have  been  when  located  in  a village,  and  whether 
a farmer  feels  as  thoroughly  at  home  in  a village  church  as  he  does 
in  an  open  country  church.  A certain  farmer  and  villager  psychology 
must  be  taken  into  consideration.  It  is  clear,  however,  from  this 
study  that  where  there  is  a reasonably  large  and  homogeneous  neigh- 
borhood group,  outside  the  limits  of  a population  center,  held  together 
not  only  by  religious  purpose,  but  by  other  group-making  factors,  the 
church  of  that  group  should  be  located  at  some  convenient  point  in 
the  open  country.  The  wisdom  of  such  a choice  is  well  illustrated  in 
the  county  by  the  following  examples  : Roxbury,  Pine  Bluff,  Daleyville, 
Primrose,  Norway  Grove,  Liberty  Prairie,  West  Koshkonong  and  East 
Koshkonong.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  village  is  the  natural  center 
of  some  group,  then  that  center  may  well  become  the  place  for  the 
church. 

“Sufficient  Volume  of  Business” — The  twelve  solid  circles  on  the 
map  indicating  abandoned  churches,  show  what  is  happening  to  the 
small  churches  in  the  county.  Table  XI  indicates  that  these  small 
churches  cannot  hold  their  pastors  for  any  length  of  time,  for  86  per 
cent  of  the  pastors  serving  a combined  constituency  of  100  or  less 
remained  on  their  charges  only  three  years  or  less.  The  sayings, 
“Nothing  succeeds  like  success”  or  “The  destruction  of  the  poor  is 
their  poverty,”  are  well  illustrated  by  the  churches  of  this  county. 
The  large  church  appears  to  prosper  and  succeeds  in  holding  its  pastor, 
while  many  of  the  small  churches  are  dying  out,  and  cannot  hold  their 
pastors  for  a long  period.  And  yet  in  the  face  of  such  facts  as  these, 
churches  continue  their  competition  and  denominational  boards  con- 
tinue to  subsidize  such  churches  with  good  missionary  money. 

Overchurched  and  Underchurched  Territory — The  analysis  of  the 

rural  church  situation  in  the  county  reveals  the  fact  that  many  of  the 
small  towns  are  hampered  by  overchurching  and  overlapping.  This 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


61 


study  has  told  the  story  of  how  this  all  came  to  pass.  Perhaps  it  could 
not  have  been  otherwise.  Particularly  acute  cases  were  found  at 
Mazomanie,  Middleton,  Marshall,  Cottage  Grove,  Sun  Prairie  and  Cam- 
bridge. Indeed  the  village  or  town  that  does  not  suffer  on  this  ac- 
count is  the  exception.  An  analysis  of  one  definite  case  must  suffice. 
According  to  the  church  map,  Figures  1 and  2,  and  the  parish  maps, 
Figures  6,  7,  10  to  13,  the  nine  churches  in  Mazomanie  and  Black 
Earth  townships  including  Mounds  Creek  have  areas  of  influence  prac- 
tically confined  to  these  townships.  They  are  situated  within  a radius 
of  three  miles.  The  combined  population  of  the  two  townships  includ- 
ing the  villages  located  within  them,  in  1920  was  2027,  or  an  average 
of  225  persons  per  church.  According  to  the  federal  Census  Report 
for  Religious  Bodies  in  191615  there  was  one  church  organization  for 
every  500  people  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin.  The  combined  member- 
ship of  these  churches  in  question  is  865  and  if  the  membership  of  the 
two  largest  organizations  is  subtracted,  the  remaining  seven  churches 
have  a combined  membership  of  450,  material  for  one  good  sized  or  at 
best  two  ordinary  sized  congregations.  There  are  three  resident  pas- 
tors and  six  churches  served  by  non-resident  pastors.  Surely  a situation 
such  as  this  is  entitled  to  the  earnest  consideration  of  churchmen  and 
church  leaders  for  it  can  hardly  be  considered  a condition  of  progress. 
Such  churches  cannot  pay  adequate  salaries  ; inadequate  salaries  event- 
ually mean  inefficient  leadership ; and  inefficient  leadershiip  results  in 
lifeless  organization. 

The  problem  of  caring  for  the  unchurched  territory  is  more  easy  of 
solution.  Such  territory  is  “no  man’s  land”,  because  it  lies  outside  the 
natural  neighborhood  groups  or  because  diminutive  groups  are  not 
accustomed  to  the  churches  of  the  larger  groups  nearby.  The  local 
churches  of  the  county  which  have  adapted  their  programs  to  meet 
the  needs  of  people  whose  religious  traditions  are  somewhat  different, 
are  fulfilling  their  missionary  opportunity.  May  not  the  church  that 
feels  an  obligation  to  the  people  in  lands  across  the  seas  well  learn 
also  to  feel  responsibility  for  the  stranger  within  its  gates. 

Absentee  and  Migratory  Pastors — Another  of  the  problems  of  the 
country  church  is  what  has  been  called  “absentee  pastorism.”  Try  as 
he  may,  the  absentee  pastor  can  only  be  to  the  church  about  what  the 
absentee  landlord  is  to  the  community.  And  the  migratory  pastor 
may  be  to  the  church  largely  what  the  migratory  tenant  is  to  the  farm. 
This  problem  is  intimately  connected  with  that  of  size  of  congrega- 
tions and  with  that  of  overchurching  and  overlapping.  Churches  are 
often  small  and  weak  because  there  have  been  too  many  of  them,  or 
because  shiftings  and  shrinkings  have  made  growth  impossible.  Be- 
cause they  are  small,  they  cannot  support  resident  pastors,  and  if  they 
support  them  at  all,  the  support  is  so  inadequate  that  pastors  are  not 
willing  to  remain  for  any  length  of  time.  Table  XV  shows  not  only 


“Religious  Bodies,  1916,  Bulletin  142.  Bureau  of  the  Census,  p.  103. 


62 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  60 


that  31  per  cent  of  the  pastors  have  a combined  constituency  of  100 
or  less,  but  also  that  86  per  cent  of  the  pastors  serving  churches  of 
100  or  less,  remain  but  one  to  three  years.  Many  authorities  insist 
that  a rural  cleryman  should  be  on  his  charge  at  least  three  years  be- 
fore he  can  do  his  most  efficent  work.  The  conclusion  seems  to  be 
that  the  various  church  bodies  which  are  most  closely  related  by  tra- 
dition and  belief  may  best  serve  their  respective  groups  and  the  cause 
of  the  community  by  getting  together  on  some  plan  of  comity  and 
cooperation  and  agreeing  on  a policy  of  consolidation,  elimination  or 
exchange. 

Another  angle  of  this  problem  relating  to  the  pastor  as  important, 
if  not  more  so,  is  that  of  his  preparation  and  his  attitude  toward  his 
chosen  field  of  work.  This  most  important  social  institution  cannot 
hope  to  rise  above  the  level  of  its  leadership.  Those  pastors  in  the 
county  who  are  seeming  to  meet  with  the  greatest  success  are  not 
those  who  regard  their  tasks  as  temporary  or  as  stepping  stones  to 
city  churches.  Equally  important  is  the  recognition  on  the  part  of 
the  local  parish,  that  a well-trained,  sympathetic  pastor  is  just  as 
essential  to  the  success  of  a local  community  as  is  the  school  teacher, 
the  merchant  or  the  physician.  Where  such  a state  of  mind  exists  the 
questions  of  compensation  and  tenure  are  not  baffling  problems. 

The  Language  Question — The  citizen  who  has  grown  to  maturity  in 
a foreign  country,  will  do  well  if  he  is  able  to  master  the  English  lan- 
guage sufficiently  to  help  himself  in  all  his  business  transactions. 
Unless  he  be  thrown  into  daily  and  intimate  contact  with  English- 
speaking  neighbors,  he  will  never  feel  quite  at  home  in  the  newly  ac- 
quired language.  Religious  expression  being  so  voluntary  and  spon- 
taneous, he  can  be  least  expected  to  get  satisfaction  from  a service  con- 
ducted in  what  is  to  him  a foreign  language.  Yet  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  often  the  foreign  language  is  used  in  these  services  for  a 
much  longer  period  than  may  be  necessary.  The  older  people  are 
sometimes  slow  to  appreciate  the  needs  of  a younger  generation,  and 
often  the  young  respect  the  wishes  of  their  elders  too  much  to  demand 
a change.  There  are  cases  in  the  county  where  the  refusal  on  the 
part  of  a congregation  to  adopt  the  language  of  the  country  has  re- 
sulted in  internal  controversies,  or  even  in  the  establishment  of  rival 
churches. 

The  Need  for  a State-Wide  Consciousness — It  is  almost  inconceiv- 
able how  these  various  problems  which  are  so  challenging  can  be  met 
without  some  inter-group  understanding.  The  logical  starting  point 
in  the  solution  would  seem  to  be  the  state  as  a whole.  A smaller  unit 
would  hardly  have  sufficient  information.  A single  denominaiton  or  a 
number  of  local  churches  can  do  little.  For  many  rural  churches  the 
situation  will  be  hopeless  until  the  time  comes  when  a state-wide 
policy  of  reparishing  and  the  redistribution  of  pastors  can  be  adopted. 
At  present  many  church  groups  work  as  though  they  were  entirely 


Rural  Religious  Organization 


63 


ignorant  of  one  another’s  existence.  Leaders  with  vision  narrow  and 
provincial,  fail  to  see  their  task  as  a whole,  and  in  its  proper  relation 
to  other  churches  and  to  other  rural  agencies  in  the  local  community 
itself,  and  in  the  state  as  a whole.  The  question  of  organic  union  is 
not  involved  here.  No  one  familiar  with  the  historic  background  de- 
tailed in  this  study  would  advocate  any  idealistic  scheme  of  amalgama- 
tion of  widely  divergent  types.  It  is  simply  a matter  of  rising  above 
provincialism  to  a plan  of  Christian  statesmanship  in  this  most  im- 
portant sphere  of  rural  life. 


Contents 


Part  1 — Present  Outlines  of  Religious  Organization  Page 

Complex  nature  of  religious  organization.. 1 

Religious  bodies  enumerated  and  the  major  groupings  2 
Distribution  and  location  of  churches,  membership, 

and  parishes  : 3-11 

Part  II — Social  History  of  the  Religious  Groups 

The  streams  of  early  settlement  12 

The  Lutheran  stream  20 

The  Roman  Catholic  stream  27 

The  “Reformed”  stream  29 

The  streams  flow  together  34 

Part  III — Tendencies  and  Problems  of  Readjustment 

Organization  tendencies  40 

Problems  in  readjustment  55 

Part  IV — The  Future  in  Rural  Religious  Organization 

Strategic  location  of  churches  60 

“Sufficient  volume  of  business”  principle  60 

Overchurched  and  underchurched  territory  60 

Absentee  and  migratory  pastors  61 

The  language  question  62 

The  need  for  state-wide  consciousness  62 


Research  Bulletin  61 


January,  1925 


A Study  of  the  Principal  Changes 
Which  Take  Place  in  the  Making  of  Silage 


, nn  i n l U *} 

AHH 


W.  H.  PETERSON,  E.  G.  HASTINGS  and  E.  B.  FRED 


Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
of  the 

University  of  Wisconsin 
Madison 


Contents 


The  nature  of  silage  making 1 

General  plan  of  the  experimental  work  2 

Filling  the  silo 2 

Temperature  determination  3 

Samples  for  analysis  3 

Observations  on  the  samples  4 

Methods  of  analysis  4 

Moisture  4 

Volatile  and  non-volatile  acids  4 

Alcohol . 4 

Carbohydrates  .... 5 

Forms  of  nitrogen  5 

Sampling  and  analysis  of  silo  gases 5 

Number  and  kinds  of  bacteria  5 

Chemical  and  physical  changes  in  the  silo  12 

Gases  12 

Temperature  changes 14 

Fermentation  products  15 

Non-volatile  acids  other  than  lactic 17 

Forms  of  nitrogen  in  corn  silage  20 

Loss  of  dry  matter  22 

Destruction  of  starch 22 

Destruction  of  pentosans  23 

Effect  of  inoculation  on  the  production  of  silage  24 

Experimental  silage  made  in  milk  bottles  25 

Experimental  silage  in  large  containers  25 

Effect  of  inoculation  under  conditions  existing  in  the  silo  27 

Summary  29 

Literature  cited 31 


A Study  of  the  Principal  Changes 
Which  Take  Place  in  the 
Making  of  Silage* 

From  the  Departments  of  Agricultural  Chemistry  and 
Agricultural  Bacteriology 

SOME  IDEA  of  the  importance  of  silage  for  Wisconsin  may  be 
gained  from  a survey  of  the  number  of  farms  and  the  number 
of  silos.  In  1923  there  were  somewhat  less  than  200,000  farms 
in  Wisconsin  and  more  than  100,000  silos.  No  other  state  in  the  Union 
compares  with  Wisconsin  in  this  respect.  New  York  comes  second 
with  about  55,000  silos.  There  are  said  to  be  500,000  silos  in  the  United 
States  and  more  than  one-fifth  of  these  are  within  the  boundaries  of 
this  state.  A farm  practice  that  is  used  by  such  a body  of  farmers  is 
certainly  deserving  of  scientific  stud}'. 

The  Nature  of  Silage  Making 

When  green  plant  tissue  is  placed  in  a closed  contained,  the  plant 
cells  continue  to  respire  and  produce  carbon  dioxide  and  other  prod- 
ucts. As  a result  of  this  respiratory  process  The  oxygen  is  exhausted 
in  a few  hours.  During  the  time  that  oxygen  is  abundant,  carbon 
dioxide  is  practically  the  sole  product  that  is  eliminated  from  the  cells, 
but  when  the  oxygen  supply  becomes  much  reduced,  other  compounds 
such  as  ethyl  alcohol,  acetic  and  lactic  acids  may  be  formed  in  small 
quantities./ 

Coincident  with  the  diminishing  functions  of  the  plant  cells  comes 
an  increase  in  the  activities  of  lower  forms  of  life,  such  as  bacteria, 
yeast,  and  molds.  Due  to  the  absence  of  air  the  molds  probably  func- 
tion for  only  a few  hours.  The  yeasts  may  continue  to  grow  for  a 
longer  time,  but  plate  counts  indicate  that  they  usually  disappear  in 
a fewT  days.  The  chief  forms  of  micro-organisms  that  remain  are  bac- 
teria. When  the  green  material  is  ensiled,  a great  variety  of  bacteria 
is  present,  but  many  of  the  forms  on  the  growing  plant  cannot  sur- 
vive under  the  conditions  existing  in  a silo.  Other  forms  present  on 
the  growing  plant  find  conditions  extremely  favorable  for  their  repro- 
duction and  increase  to  enormous  numbers.  The  exudation  of  the  sap 
from  the  plant  tissue  is  one  of  the  important  steps  in  the  process  of 


*The  writers  were  assisted  in  the  analytical  work  by  J.  A.  Anderson,  L.  A. 
Burkey,  Audrey  Davenport,  B.  P.  Domogalla  and  E.  G.'  Schmidt. 


? 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 


making  silage.  Owing  to  its  content  offrsugars,  proteins  and  salts,  the 
cell  sap  furnishes  an  excellent  food  for  the  growth  of  various  kinds  of 
micro-organisms,  especially  the  lactic  acid  bacteria.  The  conditions  in 
the  silo  are  usually  favorable  for  the  growth  of  this  group  of  bacteria 
and  hence  it  is  not  surprising  that  they  multiply  at  an  enormous  rate. 
These  myriads  of  bacteria  continue  for  a considerable  time  and  then 
slowly  decrease.  Changes  in  food  supply  and  accumulation  of  fer- 
mentation products  finally  result  in  unfavorable  conditions  and  a con- 
sequent reduction  in  the  number  of  organisms. 

The  bacteria  produce  profound  chemical  changes  in  the  plant  tissue. 
Many  of  the  carbohydrates  are  converted  into  carbon  dioxide,  ethyl 
alcohol  and  organic  acids ; the  proteins  are  partly  hydrolyzed  into 
proteoses,  peptones,  amino  acids  and  ammonia.  These  chemical  changes 
are  most  rapid  in  the  early  stages  of  the  fermentation.  This  is  also 
the  time  of  greatest  increase  in  temperature  and  the  maximum  number 
of  bacteria. 

To  follow  and  correlate  all  these  changes  simultaneously  would  ob- 
viously require  the  cooperation  of  many  workers,  particularly  in  the 
early  stages  of  the  fermentation  when  frequent  samples  must  be  taken. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  most  of  the  published  articles  on  silage  mak- 
ing have  been  concerned  with  a study  of  but  one  or  two  of  the  sev- 

eral factors  involved.  To  draw  conclusions  from  bacteriological  work 
done  on  one  sample  of  silage  and  chemical  analyses  on  another  is,  to 
say  the  least,  unsatisfactory  if  not  impossible.  It  was  the  purpose  of 
this  investigation  to  take  a number  of  samples  during  the  course  of 
the  fermentation  and  to  make  chemical  and  bacteriological  examina- 
tions on  the  same  sample  at  the  same  time.  It  was  hoped  that  in 

this  way  the  data  would  give  a more  unified  and  accurate  picture  of 

the  process.  This  has  been  accomplished  to  a certain  degree.  No 
review  of  the  voluminous  literature  on  silage  other  than  that  incident 
to  a discussion  of  the  experimental  data  will  be  given,  as  numerous 
bibliographies  have  already  been  published  (5,  10,  13,  15,  16,  23). 

\ 

General  Plan  of  the  Experimental  Work 


Filling  of  Silo — A stave  silo  10  feet  in  diameter  and  30  feet  high 
was  filled  on  September  16,  1922,  with  corn,  Golden  Glow,  Wisconsin 
No.  12,  selected  from  a large  field  of  about  50  acres. 

The  corn  from  this  portion  of  the  field  was  of  even  growth,  prac- 
tically free  from  weeds,  and  in  the  early  dent  stage.  The  leaves  were 
still  green  and  the  ears  were  well  filled.  As  far  as  could  be  judged 
it  was  in  the  best  possible  condition  for  silage  purposes.  It  was 
brought  to  the  silo  within  1 to  2 hours  after  being  cut  and  run  through 
a Blizzard  cutter  and  shredder  set  to  cut  one-inch  pieces.  During  the 
filling  processs  three  men  were  kept  in  the  silo  packing  the  cut  corn. 

When  about  10  feet  of  corn  had  been  placed  in  the  silo  the  cutter 
was  stopped  and  about  200-300  lbs.  of  the  cut  corn  thoroughly  mixed 
with  a fork.  A sample  of  about  30  lbs.  was  taken  for  chemical  and 


Changes  In  The  Making  of  Silage 


3 


bacteriological  analyses.  At  the  same  time,  three  bags  were  filled 
with  40  lbs.  each  of  corn,  closed  in  such  a way  as  to  prevent  seepage 
in  and  out  of  the  bag  and  placed  in  the  silo  equidistant  from  one 
another  about  half  way  from  the  wall  to  the  center.  The  bags  were 
made  of  heavy  canvas  which  had  been  rendered  water  proof  in  order 
to  prevent  any  change  in  their  contents  due  to  the  downward  move- 
ment of  silage  juices.  That  the  water-proofing  material  did  not  in- 
hibit the  growth  of  bacteria  was  determined  by  a preliminary  fermenta- 
tion of  glucose  yeast-water  medium  in  one  of  the  bags. 

When  the  silage  was  removed,  several  months  later,  the  bags  were 
taken  out,  the  contents  weighed,  the  dry  matter  determined,  and  from 
these  data  the  loss  of  dry  matter  was  calculated.  A second  set  of 
bags  was  placed  in  the  silo  about  10  feet  above  the  first  set.  These 
two  levels  bounded  a zone  of  silage  from  which  all  samples  were 
taken  during  the  fermentation  by  boring  through  the  wall  and  re- 
moving the  silage.  To  determine  the  settling  of  the  silage  and  the 
position  of  the  experimental  zone  of  silage,  a piece  of  2"x4"  timber 
9 feet  long  was  placed  in  the  silo  at  the  same  level  as  the  lower  set 
of  bags.  Wires  attached  to  its  ends  led  to  the  top  of  the  silo  where 
markers  were  placed  on  each  wire.  As  the  silage  settled  the  marker 
moved  down  the  wall  of  the  silo  and  the  distance  from  the  final  posi- 
tion to  that  at  the  time  of  filling  showed  how  much  the  silage  had  set- 
tled at  the  location  of  the  scantling.  The  settling  was  most  rapid 
during  the  first  24  hours  when  the  marker  moved  down  3 feet  from 
its  original  position.  After  5 days  the  distance  was  4 feet;  after  30 
days,  5 feet  and  when  the  silo  was  opened  Sy2  feet.  During  this  time 
the  silage  at  the  top  had  settled  10  feet  so  that  the  total  silage  now 
occupied  only  about  two-thirds  of  the  volume  of  the  silo. 

Temperature  Determination — An  iron  pipe  one  inch  in  diameter  20 
feet  long  was  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  silo  with  the  lower  end 
resting  on  the  timber.  After  the  silo  had  been  filled  thermometers 
were  suspended  in  the  pipe  at  various  distances  from  the  top.  To 
prevent  any  appreciable  change  in  temperature  while  the  thermome- 
ters were  being  withdrawn  from  the  pipe  and-  read,  the  lower  part  of 
the  thermometer  was  inserted  through  a cork  into  a slender  test 
tube  filled  with  water.  With  this  arrangement  no  visible  change  in 
temperature  took  place  for  several  minutes  after  the  thermometers  were 
brought  to  the  surface.  This  simple  device  was  entirely  satisfactory 
and  eliminated  all  the  possibilities  of  error  which  accompany  electrical 
measurements  of  temperature. 

Samples  for  Analysis — At  the  time  of  filling  each  set  of  bags,  about 
30  pounds  of  the  cut  corn  were  taken  to  the  laboratory  for  analysis. 
After  mixing  thoroughly,  three  samples  of  two  kilos  each  were  taken 
for  moisture  determination.  Successive  portions  of  about  10  kilos 
weight  were  pressed  in  a powerful  tin-plated  press  and  about  2 liters 
of  juice  collected.  This  juice  was  used  for  chemical  and  bacterio- 
logical analyses.  In  making  the  analysis  on  this  liquid  it  is  assumed 
that  the  plant  juice  expressed  is  representative  of  the  entire  contents 


4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 


of  the  cells.  While  this  is  not  entirely  accurate  the  method  yields 
comparative  results  and  is  probably  as  free  from  error  as  any  exist- 
ing rapid  method  that  could  be  used  to  furnish  samples  for  both  chemi- 
cal and  bacteriological  purposes.  The  drum  and  plate  of  the  press 
were  carefully  cleaned  and  sterilized  each  time  before  using  to  free 
them  from  any  bacteria. 

The  samples  taken  during  the  fermentation  were  obtained  by  boring 
a three-inch  hole  through  the  wall  of  the  silo  and  then  by  means  of 
an  iron  hook  removing  about  10  kilos  of  the  silage.  The  hole  was 
then  closed  with  a wooden  plug.  To  avoid  any  effect  of  air  intro- 
duced in  taking  the  previous  sample  a new  hole  was  bored  at  least 
five  feet  from  the  old  one  each  time  a sample  was  taken.  Ten  samples 
were  taken  through  the  wall,  two  from  the  bags,  two  from  the  silage 
adjacent  to  the  bags  and  two  of  the  green  corn,  making  16  samples 
in  all. 

Observations  on  the  Samples — The  first  sample  taken  24  hours  after 
the  silo  was  filled  still  had  the  characteristic  appearance  and  odor  of 
green  corn  forage.  After  2 days,  the  forage  first  began  to  have  a 
slight  odor  of  silage.  This  odor  was  distinct  after  3 days  and  very 
decided  at  the  end  of  5 daj^s.  At*  the  end  of  16  days  the  aroma,  color, 
and  taste  were  typical  of  a first  class  silage. 

Methods  of  Analysis 

Moisture — One  kilo  samples  were  dried  rapidly  at  65°  C.  and  then 
placed  in  a steam  oven  and  dried  at  98°  C.  to  constant  weight. 

Volatile  and  Non-Volatile  Acids- — The  silage  juice  was  acidified  with 
sulfuric  acid  and  distilled  with  steam  until  100  cc.  of  distillate  con- 
tained less  than  1 cc.  of  0.1  N acid.  The  residue  from  the  steam  dis- 
tillation was  concentrated  on  a steam  bath  to  about  50  cc.  placed  in  a 
Kutscher-Steudel  extraction  apparatus,  and  extracted  with  ether  for 
48-60  hours.  The  ether  was  evaporated  off  and  the  extracted  acids 
titrated  with  0.1  N barium  hydroxide.  The  lactic  acid  in  the  barium 
salts  was  determined  by  oxidizing  a portion  with  permanganate  by  the 
Von-Furth-Charnass  (9)  method.  As  a check  on  this  procedure,  in 
a few  cases  the  barium  salts  were  evaporated  to  10  to  20  cc.  and  then 
diluted  with  absolute  alcohol  to  a volume  equivalent  to  90  per  cent 
alcohol.  The  barium  lactate  is  kept  in  solution  while  the  other  barium 
salts  of  organic  acids  such  as  malic,  etc.  are  precipitated.  A portion 
of  the  alcoholic  solution  was  evaporated  to  dryness  in  a platinum  dish, 
acidified  with  35  per  cent  sulfuric  acid,  and  ignited  to  barium  sulfate. 
From  the  weight  of  barium  sulfate  the  equivalent  weight  of  lactic  acid 
was  calculated. 

Alcohol — The  silage  juice  was  neutralized  to  phenolphthalein,  sat- 
urated with  sodium  chloride,  and  the  alcohol  removed  by  distillation. 
The  distillate  was  oxidized  with  potassium  dichromate  and  sulfuric  acid 
and  the  resulting  acids  distilled  and  titrated.  From  the  titration  figure 
the  corresponding  quantity  of  alcohol  was  calculated  as  ethyl  alcohol. 


Changes  In  The  Making  of  Silage 


5 


Carbohydrates — Total  reducing  sugars  were  determined  after  hydrol- 
ysis and  clarification  by  the  Shaffer  Hartmann  (27)  method.  Pento- 
sans were  determined  by  the  Krober  (14)  phloroglucin  method.  Starch 
was  determined  by  extracting  the  samples  dried  at  65°  C.  with  alcohol, 
digesting  with  saliva  and  determining  the  reducing  sugars  formed. 

Forms  of  Nitrogen — Total  nitrogen  was  determined  by  the  Gunning 
modification  of  the  Kjeldahl  method,  ammonia  by  Folin’s  (11)  method, 
and  amino  nitrogen  by  Van  Slyke’s  (29)  method.  Soluble  proteins  and 
intermediate  digestion  products  were  precipitated  by  Folin  and  Wu’s 
(7)  tungstic  acid  method  and  the  nitrogen  calculated  by  difference  from 
the  total  soluble  nitrogen  and  the  nitrogen  in  the  filtrate. 

Sampling  and  Anjalysis  of  Silo  Gases — Samples  of  the  silo  gases 
were  obtained  by  means  of  an  iron  tube  and  aspirator  bottles  contain- 
ing mercury.  The  tube  was  'closed  at  one  end,  sharpened  to  a point 
and  had  three  holes  bored  at  an  angle  through  the  wall.  The  first  or 
sampling  bottle  was  connected  to  the  second  or  reservoir  bottle  by 
means  of  a rubber  tube  attached  to  a side  tube  at  the  bottom  of  the 
bottle.  The  mouth  was  closed  by  a two-hole  stopper  containing  glass 
tubes  which  could  be  closed  by  stop  cocks. 

To  obtain  a sample  of  gas,  the  iron  tube  was  driven  into  the  silage 
and  then  attached  to  the  sampling  bottle.  By  opening  the  right  stop 
cock  and  lowering  the  reservoir,  gas  was  drawn  into  the  first  bottle. 
When  full  of  gas  the  stop  cock  was  closed,  the  second  tube  opened 
and  the  gas  forced  out  into  the  air  by  raising  the  reservoir.  After 
washing  out  the  apparatus  three  or  four  times  with  the  silage  gases, 
the  last  sample  was  retained  in  the  bottle  and  taken  to  the  laboratory 
for  analysis.  The  gas  was  transferred  to  a Burrell  gas  apparatus  and 
analyzed  for  carbon  dioxide,  oxygen,  hydrogen  and  hydrocarbons. 

Number  and  Kinds  of  Bacteria 

Counts  of  the  number  of  bacteria  in  silage  juice  were  made  by  the 
dilution  method,  plate  method  and  direct  microscopic  method.  Aside 
from  the  total  number  of  bacteria,  dilution  counts  were  carried  out  with 
various  kinds  of  media.  At  each  analysis  1 per  cent  concentrations  of 
glusose,  succose,  lactose,  xylose,  mannitol  and  sodium  lactate  in  both 
yeast  water  and  in  beef  peptone  media  were  inoculated  with  different 
dilutions  of  the  juice. 

In  order  to  get  an  estimate  of  the  total  number  of  different  sugar- 
fermenting  organisms  in  silage.  6 to  7 dilutions  were  made  for  each  of 
the  media.  The  reaction  of  the  media  was  adjusted  to  pH  7.0.  The 
various  dilutions  of  the  expressed  silage  juice  used  to  inoculate  the 
various  sugar  media  were  obtained  as  follows  : 1 cc.  of  the  juice  was 
added  to  a 99  cc.  water  blank  for  the  1/100  dilution,  but  for  succeed- 
ing dilutions  10  cc.  of  the  1/100  or  1/1000  etc.  dilutions  was  added  to 
a 90  cc.  water  blank.  Tubes  of  the  sugar  media  were  inoculated  with 
1 cc.  of  each  dilution,  so  that  growth  in  a tube  thus  inoculated  would 
mean  that  the  cc.  of  silage  juice  from  which  the  dilution  was  made 


6 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 


contained  at  least  as  many  bacteria  as  was  represented  by  the  dilution. 
On  the  basis  that  1 cc.  of  the  solution  contained  but  one  viable  organism, 
the  estimated  total  number  of  bacteria  per  cc.  of  juice  is  probably  much 
lower  than  is  the  actual  number. 

All  inoculated  sugar  media  were  incubated  at  37°  C.  Observations 
as  to  growth,  its  appearance,  formation  of  gas  etc.  were  made  after 
24,  48  and  96  hours.  At  the  end  of  this  time,  incubation  was  con- 
tinued at  room  temperature  for  2 weeks  when  titrations  were  made 
of  the  acid  production. 

Glucose-yeast-water  agar  was  used  for  all  plate  counts.  The  direct 
counts  were  made  as  follows : by  means  of  a standardized  platinum 
loop,  1/100  of  a cubic  centimeter  of  the  juice  was  spread  over  4 
square  centimeters,  dried,  fixed  with  heat  and  stained  with  Loeffler’s 
methylene  blue. 

The  growth  and  action  of  silage  bacteria  in  litmus  milk  was  de- 
termined by  inoculating  tubes  of  milk  with  the  various  dilutions.  One 
set  of  inoculated  milk  tubes,  covered  with  a half  inch  layer  of  melted 
vaseline  was  heated  for  10  minutes  at  80°  C.  after  inoculation.  Methy- 
lene blue  reduction  in  milk  was  carried  out  at  each  analysis  with  a 
1/200,000  dilution  of  the  stain. 

Table  I. — Number  of  Micro-organisms  in  the  Juice  of  Corn  Silage 


Plate  counts  In  1 cc.  of  juice 


No. 

Age 

Yeasts 

Bacteria 

1 

Days 

0 

500,000 

2,400,000 

2 

1 

500,000 

1 ,340,000,000 

3 

2 

33,000 

880,000,000 

4 

3 

700,000,000 
1 ,640,000,000 

5 

5 

6,700 

6 

11 

2,100 

1 ,575,000,000 

7 

30 

2,500 

856,000,000 

8 

44 

260,000,000 

9,500,000 

9 

85 

3,300 

10 

132 

1 ,800 

2,000,000 

The  results  of  the  bacteriological  analysis  by  means  of  plate  counts 
are  given  in  Table  I.  In  harmony  with  the  data  from  various  investi- 
gators (6,  12)  it  is  plain  that  the  number  of  bacteria  in  the  ensilage 
undergoes  an  enormous  multiplication  during  the  first  few  days  after  the 
fodder  is  put  in  the  silo.  Almost  immediately  after  the  cut  corn  is 
ensiled  there  is  a rapid  multiplication,  especially  of  the  lactic-forming 
bacteria,  from  less  than  3 million  to  more  than  1 billion  per  cc.  The 
significance  of  this  change  in  the  flora  of  silage  and  its  effect  on  the 
composition  cannot  be  questioned.  In  spite  of  fluctuations,  this  high 
number  of  living  bacteria  was  maintained  for  11  days  and  not  until 
more  than  30  days  had  elapsed  was  there  any  marked  decrease  in 
numbers.  It  was  almost  four  months  after  the  corn  had  been  put 
into  the  silo  before  the  number  of  bacteria  decreased  to  that  found  on 


Changes  In  The  Making  of  Silage 


7 


the  original  sample.  The  greater  part  of  both  thermal  and  chemical 
changes  occurs  during  the  period  of  active  growth  of  the  bacteria. 
Owing  to  the  fact  that  cell  death  soon  overbalances  cell  reproduction 
the  number  of  living  bacteria  decrease.  Because  of  the  good  insulating 
property  of  the  silage  there  is  usually  a gradual  gain  in  temperature 
although  the  number  of  living  bacteria  is  not  so  great.  It  is  reason- 
able to  expect  there  will  be  no  definite  relationship  or  parallelism 
between  the  number  of  living  bacteria  and  temperature  except  during 
the  early  stages  of  the  process  of  silage  formation.  The  products  of 
decomposition  also  tend  to  accumulate  although  the  number  of  living 
bacteria  is  decreasing;  hence  there  is  no  parallelism  here  except  dur- 
ing the  initial  stages  of  silage  production. 

On  the  plates  seeded  with  diluted  juice  of  the  fresh  corn  a great 
variety  of  colonies  appeared,  spreaders,  chromogenic  forms,  small  pin 
point  colonies.  Plates  of  samples  taken  24  hours  later  were  entirely 
different.  Instead  of  the  varied  flora,  only  one  or  two  types  of  colonies 
appeared.  The  spreaders  and  the  chromogens  disappeared  and  in  turn 
were  replaced  by  great  numbers  of  the  small  pin  point  colony  bacteria 
which  in  the  proper  medium  form  large  amounts  of  lactic  acid.  (28)  To 
gain  some  idea  of  the  general  characteristics  of  the  silage  flora,  trans- 


Chart  I. — The  Relation  Between  Number  of  Bacteria.  Acidity,  Soluble 
Nitrogen  and  Temperature 


8 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 


fers  of  representative  colonies  were  made  from  each  sample  and  these 
cultures  studied.  Almost  without  exception  it  was  found  that  the 
organisms  belonged  to  the  general  group  of  lactic  acid-forming  bacteria. 
In  Chart  I are  given  the  curves  of  total  number  of  bacteria,  acid 
formed,  increase  in  temperature  and  also  increase  in  soluble  nitrogen. 

As  might  be  expected  the  number  of  yeasts  normally  present  on  the 
corn  fail  to  show  any  decided  increase  in  the  silage.  Two  days  after 
the  corn  is  ensiled,  there  is  a decided  falling  off  in  the  number  of 
yeast  cells;  this  decrease  is  especially  noticeable  after  the  first  five 
days.  The  formation  of  alcohol  in  silage  cannot  be  accounted  for  as 
a product  of  yeast  development.  It  is  no  doubt  produced  by  certain 
groups  of  the  lactic  acid  bacteria. 

Counts  made  by  the  direct  microscopic  method  showed  the  presence 
of  so  much  debris  that  it  was  found  impossible  to  make  an  accurate 
determination  of  the  number  of  bacteria.  Examination  of  the  mounts 
proved^valuable  as  a means  of  detecting  the  change  in  kinds  of  organ- 
ism as  well  as  number.  Corn  juice  at  the  beginning  showed  many  kinds 
of  organisms  while  the  samples  after  1 and  2 days  until  the  end  of  the 
test  showed  only  a few  types.  Attempts  were  made  to  classify  the  bac- 
teria in  silage  by  the  use  of  various  sugar  media.  The  large  number 
of  organisms  found  in  silage  and  the  difficulty  of  adequately  describing 
them  is  well  known.  It  was  hoped  that  the  fermentation  of  various 
sugars  might  prove  useful  in  the  separation  of  certain  selected  groups. 
Unfortunately  the  dilutions  carried  out  on  the  various  media  were  not 
always  high  enough  to  give  a measure  of  the  maximum  number  present 
in  the  samples  of  juice.  The  results  of  the  dilution  tests  are  given  in 
Tables  II  and  II.  These  data  show  the  role  of  the  lactic  acid  bac- 
teria in  corn  silage  fermentation  and  will  be  discussed  in  detail. 

During  the  first  24  hours  after  ensiling,  the  number  of  bacteria  in- 
creased 100  times,  while,  in  the  succeeding  24  hours  the  increase  was 
1000  fold,  reaching  the  huge  number  of  100  billion  per  cubic  centimeter 
of  juice.  After  7 days  the  numbers  decreased,  although  even  after 
132  days  there  remained  10  million  active  bacteria  per  cubic  centi- 
meter. 

It  may  be  fairly  assumed  that  the  majority  of  all  bacteria  contained 
in  silage  will  grow  in  glucose-yeast-water  media.  Since  the  number  of 
bacteria  found  by  means  of  the  xvlose-yeast-water  equalled  that  mea- 
sured by  the  glucose  medium,  it  may  likewise  be  concluded  that  the 
pentose  fermenters  comprise  the  vast  majority  of  bacteria  contained 
in  silage  (20).  That  the  bacteria  counted  were  actually  fermenting  the 
xylose  and  not  merely  growing  in  the  yeast  water  is  proved  by  com-' 
paring  the  acid  production  on  yeast  water  alone  with  that  produced 
in  yeast  water  plus  xylose.  The  complete  data  showing  the  acid  pro- 
duction in  yeast  water  alone  have  been  omitted.  The  inoculated  yeast 
water  rarely  gave  more  than  3.0  cc.  and  in  high  dilutions  was  below  2.0 
cc.  of  O.l  N acid  for  10  cc.  of  medium.  In  Table  III  it  may  be  seen 
that  the  acidity  developed  in  the  highest  dilution  for  the  xylose  medium 


Table  II.— Number  of  Micro-organisms  in  Silage  Juice  at  Various  Ages 


Changes  In  The  Making  of  Silage 


9 


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10 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 


Table  III. — Production  of  Acid  by  Silage  Bacteria  in  Xylose  and 

Glucose  Media 


O.  1 N.  Acid  in  10  cc.  of  media 


Glucose 

Xylose 

Sample 

Yeast 

Beef 

Yeast 

Beef 

No. 

water 

peptone 

water 

peptone 

Low 

High 

Low 

High 

Low 

High 

Low  ! 

High 

dil. 

dil. 

dil. 

dil. 

dil. 

dil. 

an. 

dil. 

cc. 

cc. 

cc. 

cc. 

cc. 

cc. 

cc. 

cc.  . 

1 

4.0 

3.7 

0.8 

0.6 

6.0 

3.0 

2.6 

0.8 

2 

4.0 

2.6 

1.2 

0.6 

6.0 

4.2 

1.6 

1.2 

3 

4.4 

3.4 

4.2 

5.6 

4 

5.6 

4.8 

3.6 

2.0 

7.2 

5.0 

6.8 

5.2 

5 

8.0 

6.8 

4.0 

4.0 

8.0 

8.8 

6.4 

3.2 

6 

7.0 

6.0 

4.2 

2.2 

7.4 

3.4 

5.6 

3.4 

7 

6.8 

9.0 

2.0 

3.6 

10.0 

8.8 

6.0 

3.2 

8 

7.2 

6.8 

3.6 

3.6 

7.8 

7.2 

4.6 

3.2 

9 

8.8 

5.8 

6.0 

4.0 

7.0 

10.6 

9.0 

3.6 

10 

11.0 

8.4 

5.2 

4.8 

9.8 

8.6 

6.0 

3.2 

11 

6.8 

8.2 

2.0 

3.0 

4.0 

8.4 

4.0 

4.0 

12 

8.4 

8.8 

2.0 

4.0 

5.0 

8.2 

7.2 

3.8 

13.  . 

7.0 

4.3 

10.9 

6.0 

Average 

6.85 

5.22 

3.09 

2.95 

7.18 

6.48 

5.36 

3.16 

fell  below  4.0  cc.  in  only  two  cases  and  averaged  6.48  cc.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  xylose  must  have  been  fermented  to  produce  this  quatitity 
of  acid.  Determinations  of  sugar  on  the  fermented  cultures,  also 
showed  a large  part  of  the  xylose  to  have  been  destroyed. 

The  titration  figures,  Table  III,  show  a generally  higher  acid  pro- 
duction from  xylose  than  from  glucose.  This  result  is  in  harmony 
with  quantitative  data  previously  obtained  from  the  fermentation  of 
glucose  by  certain  pentose-fermenting  bacteria.  All  of  the  pentose 
fermenters  studied  in  the  previous  papers,  (8,  21)  L.  pentoaceticus, 
L.  pentosus  and  L.  arabinosus  were  found  to  ferment  a larger  per- 
centage of  xylose  and  arabinose  than  of  glucose  or  other  hexoses.  A 
second  factor  operating  to  give  a low  acidity  from  glucose  is  the  pro- 
duction of  neutral  bodies  such  as  ethyl  alcohol  and  carbon  dioxide  by 
certain  of  the  pentose  fermenters. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  higher  acidities  are  developed  by  the  bac- 
teria found  in  old  silage  than  by  those  found  in  the  early  stages  of  the 
fermentation.  In  old  silage  low  acid  producers  are  eliminated  and  a 
flora  is  developed  which  both  produces  and  tolerates  high  concentrations 
of  acid. 

A comparison  of  the  figures  from  low  and  high  dilutions  indicates 
that  for  both  xylose  and  glucose  the  amount  of  silage  juice  in  the  ino- 
culum influences  the  final  acidity  reached.  This  may  be  due  either  to 
a different  mixture  of  bacteria  in  varying  dilutions  or  to  the  absence 
of  the  high  acid  producers  from  the  last  dilutions.  It  is  not  improbable 
that  the  production  of  acid  is  a symbiotic  relationship  depending  upon 
the  presence  of  certain  mixtures  of  bacteria.  An  alteration  in  this 
mutual  relationship  markedly  influences  the  degree  of  acidity  attained. 


Table  IV. — Acid  Production  in  Milk  by  Silage  Bacteria 


Changes  In  The  Making  of  Silage 

II 


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12 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 


The  number  of  acid-forming  bacteria  in  milk  is  shown  in  Table 
IV.  The  evidence  indicates  that  a high  percentage  of  the  organisms 
commonly  found  in  silage  ferment  milk.  Acid  production  from  milk 
is  especially  true  during  the  first  week,  later  the  numbers  decrease  but 
are  present  in  high  numbers  until  the  end  of  four  weeks. 

Chemical  and  Physical  Changes  in  the  Silo 

Gases — One  of  the  first  chemical  changes  in  the  silo  is  the  con- 
sumption of  oxygen  and  production  of  carbon  dioxide.  This  change 
begins  immediately  after  the  tissue  is  placed  in  the  silo  and  within  a 
few  hours  the  oxygen  has  disappeared.  From  Table  V and  Chart  2, 
it  can  be  seen  that  within  an  hour  after  ensiling,  the  gas  in  the  in- 
terstices of  the  forage  contained  4 per  cent  of  carbon  dioxide.  In 
5 hours  the  percentage  had  risen  to  17.9  and  the  oxygen  had  almost 
completely  disappeared.  From  this  time  on,  the  carbon  dioxide  in- 
creased rapidly  to  a maximum  of  68  per  cent,  46  hours  after  the  ma- 
terial was  placed  in  the  silo.  It  then  began  to  decrease  and  con- 
tinued to  decrease  for  131  days. 

Table  V. — Composition  of  Gas  Contained  in  Silos 


Sample  No. 

Location  in 
silo 

Age  ot 
silage 

Carbon 

dioxide 

Oxygen 

Silo  No. 

1 

1 

Bottom 

Bottom 

1 hr. 

Per  cent 
4.0 

Per  cent 
13.7 

2 

5 hrs. 

17.9 

0.6 

3 

Bottom 

10  hrs. 

25.1 

0.0 

4 

Bottom 

23  hrs. 

45.8 

0.0 

5 

Top 

Bottom 

23  hrs. 

35.3 

0.0 

[ 6 

46  hrs. 

68.0 

0.0 

7 

Top 

Bottom 

46  hrs. 

47.1 

0.0 

8 

3 days 
3 days 
5 days 
5 days 
7 days 
7 days 
11  days 
16  days 
16  days 
23  days 
23  days 
37  days 
37  days 
67  days 
67  days 
131  days 

59.0 

0.0 

9 

Top 

Bottom 

40.6 

0.0 

10 

47.4 

0.0 

11 

Top 

Bottom 

32.3 

0.0 

12 

42.2 

0.0 

13 

Top 

Bottom 

27.9 

0.0 

14 

36.4 

0.7 

15 

Bottom 

30.0 

0.0 

16 . 

Top 

Bottom 

22.9 

0.0 

17 

27.1 

0.0 

18 

Top 

Bottom 

21.7 

0.0 

19 

25.3 

0.4 

20 

Top 

Bottom 

20.4 

0.6 

21 

19.7 

0.6 

22 

Top 

Bottom 

18.6 

0.4 

23 

18.0 

0.8 

Silo  No.  I 

> 

1 

9 ft.  from  surface 

2 days 
2 days 
7 days 
7 days 
15  days 
15  days 
23  days 
23  days 

55.6 

0.0 

2 

16  ft.  from  surface 

57.3 

0.0 

3 

5 ft.  from  surface 

28.0 

0.5 

4 

16  ft.  from  surface 

43.2 

0.0 

5 

5 ft.  from  surface 

24.6 

1.6 

6 

13ft.  from  surface 

31 . 1 

1 . 1 

7 

4 ft.  from  surface 

23.7 

0.4 

8 

10  ft.  from  surface 

27.4 

0.2 

Changes  In  The  Making  of  Silage 


13 


A similar  increase  followed  by  a decrease  in  the  carbon  dioxide  con- 
tent of  silage  gases  has  been  noted  by  Neidig  (17).  In  one  instance  he 
found  a decrease  from  87  per  cent  of  carbon  dioxide  on  the  third  day 
to  40.5  per  cent  on  the  twenty-first  day. 


TablejVI. — The  Composition  of  the  Gas  at  Different  Plages  in  the 

Silo 


Sample 

No. 

Location  in  silo 

Age  of 
silage 

Carbon 

dioxide 

Oxygen 

Nitrogen 

1 

2 ft.  from  surface 

Days 

Per  cent 
20.  1 

Per  cent 
1.3 

Per  cent 
78.6 

2 

4 ft.  from  surlace 

7 

20.1 

1.2 

78.5 

3 

10  It.  from  surface 

7 

27.9 

0.0 

72.1 

4 

20  ft.  from  surface 

7 

42.2 

0.0 

57.8 

5 

0.5  ft.  in,  20  ft.  from  surface 

30 

25.0 

0.5 

74.5 

6 

4 it.  in,  20  ft.  from  surface 

30 

26.7 

0.3 

73.0 

7 

0.5  ft.  in,  10  ft.  from  surface 

37 

19.7 

0.8 

79.5 

8 

4 ft.  in,  10  ft.  from  surface 

37 

20.4 

0.6 

79.0 

9 

0.5  ft.  in,  20  ft.  from  surface 

37 

22.7 

0.6 

76 . 7 

10 

4 ft.  in,  20  ft.  from  surface 

37 

25.3 

0.4 

74.3 

11 

0.5  ft.  in,  10  ft.  from  surface 

44 

17.8 

1.6 

80.6 

12 

4 ft.  in,  10  ft.  from  surface 

44 

18.6 

0.4 

81.0 

13 

0.5  ft.  in,  20  ft.  from  surface 

44 

21.9 

0.8 

77.3 

14 

4 ft.  in,  20  ft.  from  surface 

44 

23.4 

0.0 

i 

76.6 

As  can  be  seen  from  Table  VI,  the  percentage  of  carbon  dioxide  de- 
creases at  the  top  and  sides  of  the  silo;  a condition  which  shows  that 
the  carbon  dioxide  diffuses  outward  and  upward  through  the  silage.  The 
atmosphere  surrounding  the  silo  may  be  regarded  as  a vacuum  with 
respect  to  the  carbon  dioxide,  while  to  the  oxygen,  the  interior  of  the 
silo  is  a place  of  greatly  reduced  pressure.  The  oxygen  does  not  pene- 


14 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 


trate  very  far  into  the  silage  due  to  the  absorption  of  this  gas  by 
molds  and  other  aerobic  forms  of  life.  This  oxidation  of  organic  matter 
explains  the  high  temperatures  found  near  the  surface  of  the  silage. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  for  the  first  5 hours  oxygen  is 
absorbed  faster  than  carbon  dioxide  is  given  off.  The  sum  of  the 
carbon  dioxide  and  oxygen  is  less  than  18  per  cent,  while  the  per- 
centage of  oxygen  by  volume  in  the  atmosphere  is  about  20.9  per  cent. 
This  must  mean  that  some  of  the  oxygen  is  used  for  other  purposes 
than  oxidation  of  carbon  to  carbon  dioxide.  The  result  is  a negative 
pressure  in  the  silo.  That  this  negative  pressure  exists  can  be  easily 
demonstrated  by  packing  silage  into  a bottle  and  closing  it  with  a 
stopper  and  tube  dipping  into  mercury.  Within  a few  moments  the 
mercury  will  rise  1 or  2 inches  in  the  tube  due  to  the  absorption  of 
the  oxygen.  Later  it  will  fall  and  gas  can  be  seen  bubbling  through 
the  mercury.  Although  the  silage  gases  were  examined  many  times  for 
hydrogen  and  hydrocarbons  none  was  ever  found.  Cellulose  ferment- 
ing organisms  are  therefore  believed  to  be  absent  or  inactive  in  silage 
fermentations. 

Temperature  Changes. — Next  to  the  changes  in  the  composition  of 
the  silo  gases,  the  most  immediate  effect  of  ensiling  corn  forage  is  an 
increase  in  the  temperature.  A steady  rise  in  temperature  took  place 
for  15  days  equal  to  7°C.  near  the  bottom  of  the  silo  and  20°  C four 
feet  from  the  top.  For  the  intermediate  depths  the  increase  was  be- 
tween the  top  and  bottom  figures.  The  rise  in  temperature  appears  to 
be  inversely  proportional  to  the  depth.  A difference  of  almost  10  de- 


Table  VII. — Temperature  Changes  at  Different  Depths  in  the 

Silo 


Dept! 

ti  from  the  surface  in  feet 

No. 

Age 

4 

7 

13 

19 

j 

Beginning 
24  hours 

°C 
18  0 

°c 

18.0 

oC 

18.0 

oC 

18.0 

2 

20  5 

20  5 

20.0 

20.0 

3 

48  hours 

23  2 

22  0 

22  1 

21.0 

4 

60  hours 

25.0 

24.8 

23.0 

21.6 

5 

72  hours 

26  0 

25.5 

23.5 

22.0 

6 

96  hours 

28  0 

25.0 

24.5 

22.8 

7 

5 days 

6 days 

7 days 

8 days 

9 days 

10  days 

11  days 
14  days 
16  days 
20  days 
25  days 
30  days 
40  days 
50  days 
60  days 
65  days 
85  days 

130  days 

30  0 

25  5 

25.0 

23.2 

8 

31  3 

26  0 

25.6 

23.7 

9 

33.0 

26.5 

26.0 

24.0 

10 

34  0 

27.0 

26.5 

24.2 

11 

35  0 

27  2 

26.5 

24.2 

12 

35  5 

27  2 

26.5 

24.6 

13 

35  8 

28  0 

26  6 

24.8 

14 

36.8 

28.8 

26.8 

25.0 

15 

37.5 

29.0 

26.8 

25.0 

16 

37  6 

29.2 

26.6 

24.8 

17 

37  5 

29  2 

26.0 

24.6 

18 

37.5 

29.0 

25.6 

24.4 

19.  . . . 

36  6 

27  8 

24.0 

22.8 

20 

36  4 

26.0 

20.0 

20.5 

21 

36  3 

25. 1 

20.  1 

19.5 

22 

36  0 

24.5 

19.1 

18.3 

23.  . . 

35.8 

33.4 

22  0 

15  0 

14  0 

24 

18.0 

5.0 

7.0 

Changes  In  The  Making  of  Silage 


15 


grees  exists  between  the  4-foot  level  and  the  7-foot  level.  It  is  prob- 
able that  the  higher  temperature  in  the  first  4 feet  is  due  to  molds  and 
aerobic  bacteria.  Little  or  no  oxygen  penetrates  beyond  this  depth. 
The  results  of  these  measurements  are  given  in  Table  VII  and  Chart  3. 

Fermentation  Products — Simultaneously  with  the  bacterial  examina- 
tion, determinations  were  made  of  the  chief  fermentation  products  of 
the  bacteria.  A decrease  in  sugar  with  the  production  of  alcohol,  car- 
bon dioxide,  volatile  and  non-volatile  acids  are  the  chief  changes  taking 
place  in  fermenting  silage.  In  Table  VIII  are  given  the  data  for  these 
determinations  together  with  those  for  certain  other  physical  and 
chemical  constants. 

As  has  been  frequently  observed,  the  moisture  content  increases  with 
the  age  of  the  silage.  This  is  due  to  the  respiration  of  plant  cells  and 
to  the  action  of  micro-organisms.  The  rate  of  increase  is  greatest  for 
the  first  two  days  but  continues  to  rise  slowly  throughout  the  fermen- 
tation period. 

The  specific  gravity  of  the  juice  from  each  sample  was  measured 
by  means  of  the  Westphal  balance.  At  the  beginning  the  specific  gravity 
was  1.037,  after  3 days,  1.042  and  from  then  until  the  end  of  140  days 
there  was  very  little  change.  Because  of  the  slight  variation  in  the 
figures  the  complete  data  are  omitted  from  the  table. 

Little  or  no  increase  in  the  acids  takes  place  for  the  first  24  hours. 
During  this  time  many  of  the  bacteria  found  on  the  green  tissue  are 
destroyed  while  the  acid  producers  multiply  in  great  numbers.  It  re- 
quires from  24  to  48  hours  for  a typical  silage  flora  to  appear  and  to 
begin  the  formation  of  fermentation  products.  The  increase  in  bacteria 


16 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 


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Changes  In  The  Making  of  Silage 


17 


noted  in  Table  I is  reflected  in  the  acid  products  recorded  in  Table  VIII 
and  Chart  4.  The  lack  of  any  appreciable  quantity  of  acids  at  the  end 
of  24  hours  points  strongly  to  the  minor  role  of  the  plant  cell  in  the 
formation  of  these  compounds.  Respiration  in  the  plant  cell  is  at  its 
height  during  the  first  48  hours  as  is  indicated  by  the  enormous  pro- 
duction of  carbon  dioxide.  This  latter  product  may  safely  be  attributed 
to  the  activities  of  the  ..plant  cell  but  there  is  no  evidence  to  indicate 
that  these  cells  play  any  considerable  part  in  the  formation  of  alcohol  or 
acids.  These  compounds  first  appear  when  the  bacteria  become  abund- 
ant. 

A significant  fact  in  connection  with  the  presence  of  non-volatile 
acid  is  the  large  quantity  of  acid  that  is  found  in  the  corn  forage. 
This  acid  is  not  lactic  as  will  be  shown  later.  In  the  corn  tissue  it 
exists  mainly  as  a salt  as  can  be  seen  by  comparing  the  titratable  acid 
with  the  acid  obtained  after  acidifying  and  extracting  the  juice  with 
ether.  The  acidity  of  the  silage  juice  increases  with  the  age  of  the  silage 
until  a pH  of  3.8  is  reached,  which  is  about  the  limit  of  growth  for 
most  bacteria. 

The  sugar  decreased  rapidly  for  the  first  11  days  after  which  it  re- 
mained stationary  or  increased  in  amount.  Even  at  the  end  of  146  days 
there  is  still  approximately  2 per  cent  of  sugar  in  the  silage.  With 
phenylhydrazine  a glucosazone  was  obtained,  which  indicates  that  the 
reducing  sugar  was  probably  glucose.  It  is  evident  that  sugar  must  be 
formed  from  starch,  pentosans  or  other  carbohydrates  to  replace  the 
sugar  fermented,  otherwise  the  percentage  could  not  increase  or  even 
remain  constant.  A second  reason  for  believing  that  sugar  is  formed 
from  other  carbohydrates  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  weight  of  fer- 
mentation products  far  exceeds  the  weight  of  sugar  fermented.  For  ex- 
ample, in  the  case  of  sample  No.  13,  the  weight  of  sugar  fermented  at  the 
end  of  146  days  is  6.37  gm.  while  the  weight  of  products  formed  is  8.98 
gms.  In  addition  some  carbon  dioxide  must  have  been  produced  simul- 
taneously with  the  production  of  alcohol  and  acids.  It  is  obvious  that 
carbohydrates  other  than  sugars  must  have  contributed  to  the  formation 
of  the  fermentation  products.  It  will  be  shown  later  in  this  paper 
that  from  4 to  5 grams  of  pentosans  were  destroyed  in  the  formation 
of  the  silage.  There  is  also  good  reason  for  believing  that  starch  is 
destroyed  and  may  form  reducing  sugar  or  be  fermented  to  alcohol  and 
acids. 

Non-volatile  Acids  Other  Than  Lactic — Attention  has  already  been 
called  to  the  large  quantity  of  non-volatile  acid  found  in  green  corn 
tissue.  That  this  is  not  all  lactic  was  determined  by  analyzing  the  acid 
for  lactic  acid  by  the  von  Furth  and  Charnass  method  (9).  Of  the 
2.025  gm.  found  only  0.199  gm.  or  9.8  per  cent  could  be  converted  into 
acetaldehyde,  leaving  about  1.8  gm.  as  some  other  non-volatile  acid. 
From  Table  IX  it  is  seen  that  a non-volatile  acid  is  present  throughout 
the  fermentation,  but  it  is  not  certain  that  this  is  the  same  acid  as  was 


18  Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 

Table  IX. — Lactic  Acid  Content  of  the  Non-Volatile  Acid  at 
Various  Stages  of  Fermentation 


Calculated  for  100  gms.  of  dry  silage 


Sample 

No. 

Age  of 
silage 

Total 

non-volatile 

acid 

Lactic 

acid 

Non-lactic 

acid 

Days 

Gm. 

Gm. 

Gm. 

1 : 

0 

2.025 

0.199 

1.826 

2 

1 

2.195  ' 

0.514 

1.681 

3 

3 

3.579 

1.868 

1.711 

10 

30 

6.818 

5.290 

1.628 

13 

132 

7.986 

6.117 

1.869 

14* 

132 

7.416 

5.651 

1.765 

*Sample  from  sack  buried  in  silo. 


contained  in  the  forage.  The  nature  of  the  non-volatile  acid  was 
studied  by  preparing  and  analyzing  the  barium  and  silver  salts. 

The  precipitate  of  barium  salt,  obtained  as  described  under  methods 
of  determining  volatile  and  non-volatile  acids,  was  dried  to  constant 
weight  at  105° C,  dissolved  in  water  and  the  barium  precipitated  by 
adding  an  excess  of  HsSO,  the  barium  content  of  the  unknown  salt 
calculated  from  the  weight  of  barium  sulphate  obtained.  The  free  acid 
was  extracted  from  the  filtrate  with  ether,  neutralized  with  sodium 
hydroxide,  concentrated  to  a small  volume  and  the  silver  salt  precipi- 
tated by  the  addition  of  1 N AgNCL.  The  silver  salt  was  dried  to  con- 
stant weight  in  a vacuum  desiccator  over  H2S04  and  the  silver  de- 
termined by  ignition.  Results  of  the  analyses  are  given  in  Table  X and 
agree  well  with  the  theory  for  malic  acid  in  the  case  of  the  corn  forage 
and  the  3 day  silage.  The  data  are  insufficient  however  to  draw  any 
definite  conclusion  regarding  the  nature  of  the  acid  in  the  130  day 
sample.  Attention  is  called  to  the  paper  by  Russell  (24)  who  reported 
the  presence  of  malic  and  succinic  acid  in  corn  silage. 


Table  X. — Composition  of  the  Barium  and  Silver  Salts  of  the 
Unknown  Non-Volatile  Acid  in  Corn  Forage  and  Silage 


No. 

Sample 

Salt 

analyzed 

Wt.  of 
salt 

Wt.  of 
BaSC>4or 
Ag.  found 

Percent- 

age 

found 

Ba.  or  Ag. 
Theory  for 
malic  acid 

1 

Immature  marsh  corn 

Barium 

Gm 
0. 1232 

Gm 

0.1068 

Per  cent 
51.0 

Per  cent 
51.0 

2 

Immature  marsh  corn 

Silver 

0.0984 

0.0610 

62.0 

62.0 

3 

Immature  marsh  corn 

Silver 

0.1085 

0.0674 

62.4 

62.0 

4 

Mature  marsh  corn 

Barium 

0.5386 

0.4670 

51.0 

51.0 

5 

Mature  marsh  corn 

Silver 

0.0580 

0.0358 

61.7 

62.0 

6 

Mature  marsh  corn 

Silver 

0.1013 

0.0632 

62.4 

62.0 

7 

Silage — 3 days  old 

Barium 

0.3484 

0.3018 

50.6 

51.0 

8 

Silage — 3 days  old 

Silver 

0.1587 

0.0996 

62.8 

62.0 

9 

Silage — 3 days  old 

Silver 

0.1244 

0.0771 

62.8 

62.0 

10 

Silage — 3 days  old 

Silver 

0.1800 

0.1132 

62.9 

62.0 

1 1 

Silage — 130  days  old 

Silver 

0.1000 

0.0599 

59.9 

62.0 

12 

Immature  upland  corn 

Barium 

0.1276 

0.1110 

51.2 

51.2 

13 

Immature  upland  corn 

Silver 

0.0720 

0.0444 

61.7 

62.0 

Table  XI. — Distribution  of  the  Different  Forms  of  Nitrogen  in  Corn  Silage 


Changes  In  The  Making  of  Silage 


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20 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 


Chart  4. — Relation  Between  the  Destruction  of  Sugars  and  the 
Formation  of  Acids  and  Alcohol 


The  results  obtained  from  the  corn  forage  and  silage  raised  the 
question  as  to  the  presence  of  malic  acid  in  corn  during  the  early  stages 
of  growth.  On  July  22,  1924  samples  of  young  corn  grown  on  upland 
and  marsh  soils  were  taken  and  analyzed.  The  marsh  corn  was  about 
30  inches  high  and  the  upland  samples  about  40  inches.  Malic  acid 
was  found  to  be  present  in  both  of  these  samples.  These  results  indi- 
cate that  malic  acid  is  probably  present  in  corn  throughout  its  period 
of  growth  and  is  not  due  to  the  type  of  soil  on  which  the  corn  is 
grown. 

Forms  of  Nitrogen  in  Corn  Silage — The  changes  in  the  forms  of 
nitrogen  during  ensiling  have  been  studied  (1,  3,  18,  30)  far  less  ex- 
tensively than  the  fermentation  of  the  sugars  and  consequent  produc- 
tion of  acids.  The  bacteria  which  are  found  in  silage  have  a nitrogen 
as  well  as  a carbon  metabolism.  Hydrolysis  of  proteins  to  proteoses, 
peptones  and  amino  acids,  followed  by  deaminization  of  the  amino 
acids  and  the  production  of  ammonia  are  biochemical  reactions  brought 
about  by  the  silage  micro-organisms.  The  data  in  Table  XI  show  a 
progressive  increase  of  soluble  nitrogen  with  the  age  of  the  silage. 
At  the  beginning  the  soluble,  nitrogen  comprises  about  15  per  cent  of 
the  total  nitrogen  while  at  the  end  of  the  fermentation  it  amounts  to 
about  45  per  cent.  The  soluble  nitrogen  consists  of  about  one-half 
protein  nitrogen  and  one-half  peptide,  amino,  and  ammonia  nitrogen. 
Of  these  three  the  free  amino  nitrogen  is  the  principal  form  and  only 
minute  quantities  of  ammonia  and  amide  nitrogen  are  present.  The 


Changes  In  The  Making  of  Silage 


21 


percentage  of  distribution 

of  the  nitrogen  at  the 

beginning  and  after 

145  days  of  fermentation 

is  as  follows : 

Corn  forage 

Silage  145  days  old 

per  cent 

per  cent 

Insoluble  nitrogen  

84.0 

55.7 

Soluble  protein  nitrogen* 

7.6 

21.0 

Free  amino  nitrogen  

1.9 

18.4 

Peptide  nitrogen  

6.2 

4.4 

Balance  

0.3 

0.5 

100.0 

100.0 

The  total  nitrogen  of  the  forage  per  hundred  grams  of  dry  matter  was 
1.34  gm.  and  after  145  days  in  the- silo  it  decreased  to  1.27  gm.  showing 
an  apparent  loss  of  5.2  per  cent.  If  the  loss  of  dry  matter,  10  per  cent, 
is  considered  in  the  calculation,  the  actual  loss  is  14.7  per  cent.  Losses 
reported  by  previous  investigators  (1,  19,  23,  26)  have  been  of  approxi- 
mately the  same  order.  The  data  of  Table  XI  are  represented  graphically 
in  Chart  5. 


Milligrams  Nitrogen 
in  loo  Gm.  Dry  Silage 
1200 


1100 
1000 
900 
600 
700 
6 00 
500 
400 
300 
200 
100 


k 

\ 

\ 

5 O/ul. 

■>le  Hi 

a 

?r? 

-- > 

7 

otaL 

Sotub 

>le  Ni 

troge 

, - -> 

## 

A 



# 

able  / 

Y°slL 

°rptei. 

n Nit 

roge> 

y 

* 

Sol 

7...  — ''  > 

^ -> 

Amir 

70  Nl 

iroge 

n in  5 

olubi 

le 

— 

-- 

non-  Protein  Nitrogen 

— l J-  1 -l-l 

6 10  12  14  16  16  20  22  24 

AGE  IN  DAY 5 


1 40 


Chart  5. — Forms  cf  Nitrogen  in  Silage  at  Various  Times  During 

Fermentation 


2? 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 


Loss  of  Dry  Matter — In  order  to  determine  the  loss  of  nitrogen  and 
the  destruction  of  pentosans  and  starch  it  is  necessary  to  know  the  loss 
of  dry  matter.  If  this  loss  is  not  known  it  may  appear  that  there  is 
no  change  or  there  may  be  even  an  apparent  gain  in  the  pentosans, 
starch  and  other  constituents.  The  water  proof  bags  which  had  been 
filled  with  a known  weight  of  forage  and  buried  in  the  silo  at  the  time 
of  filling  served  for  this  purpose.  Feeding  of  the  silage  began  early  in 
January  and  the  first  set  of  bags  were  reached  January  27,  1923, 
132  days  after  the  silo  was  filled.  The  bags  were  taken  to  the  labora- 
tory, weighed,  the  contents  removed,  and  the  empty  bags  weighed.  It 
was  found  that  the  bag  itself  had  practically  the  same  weight  as  when 
it  was  filled.  Since  it  had  not  taken  up  any  moisture,  it  is  felt  that 
if  there  was  any  movement  of  silage  juices  these  did  not  penetrate 
the  bag.  The  contents  of  the  bag  therefore  represented  the  original  corn 
forage  free  from  any  additions  or  removals  due  to  possible  downward 
movement  of  silage  liquid.  As  a check  on  the  weight  of  silage  obtained 
by  difference  the  weight  of  silage  was  determined  by  direct  weighing. 
The  two  sets  of  figures  checked  within  one  ounce. 

The  data  are  given  in  Table  XII  and  show  an  average  loss  of  10.1 
per  cent  for  the  first  set  of  bags  and  9.8  per  cent  for  the  second  set. 

Destruction  of  Starch — The  effect  of  silage  making  on  the  starch 
content  of  corn  has  not  been  investigated  to  the  same  extent  as  the 


Table  XII. — Loss  of  Dry  Matter  in  the  Formation  of  Corn  Silage 


No.  of 
bag. 

Wt.  of 
corn 
fodder 

Moisture 

in 

fodder 

Wt.  of 
dry 
fodder 

Wt.  of 
silage 

Moisture 

in 

silage 

Wt.  of 
dry 
silage 

Loss  of 
dry 

matter 

Series  I.— 

-8  ft.  from  top 

Lbs. 

Per  cent 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Per  cent 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Per  cent 

1 

40 

40.0 

66.2 

13.52 

2 

40 

62.4 

39.9 

66.4 

13.41 

3 

40 

62.0 

39.2 

66.6 

13.09 

Average 

40 

62.2 

15.12 

39.7 

66.4 

13.34 

1.78 

10. 1* 

Series  II. 

— 5 ft.  from  bottom 

i 

1 

40 

63.0 

39.6 

66.0 

13.47 

2 

40 

63.3 

39.5 

66.5 

13.23 

3 

40 

62.7 

39.7 

67.0 

13.10 

Average 

40 

63.0 

14.80 

39.6 

66.5 

13.27 

1.53 

9.8* 

*Corrected  for  alcohol  and  acetic  acid  content  of  silage  which  is  lost  in  drying. 


fermentation  of  the  sugars.  Dox  and  Yoder  (4)  reported  that  the  starch 
content  remains  constant  throughout  the  fermentation  process.  Their 
data  however,  show  a slight  decrease  in  the  percentage  of  starch 
found  in  samples  after  fermentation  was  well  under  way  as  compared 
to  the  percentage  found  in  the  samples  taken  during  the  first  two  days 
of  fermentation.  They  also  neglect  the  loss  of  dry  matter,  which  must 
have  been  at  least  5 per  cent.  If  their  data  are  examined  with  these 


Changes  In  The  Making  of  Silage 


23 


facts  in  mind,  it  is  possible  to  calculate  a loss  of  about  10  per  cent  of 
starch.  Shaw  and  Norton  (25)  found  that  silage  contained  a slightly 
higher  percentage  of  starch  than  the  corn  forage  from  which  it  was 
made.  This  percentage  increase  could  be  brought  about  by  a loss  of 
sugars  which  would  enrich  the  residue  with  respect  to  its  starch  con- 

Table  XIII. — Destruction  of  Starch  in  the  Formation  of  Corn 

Silage 


Calculated  for  100  gm.  dry  matter 


Sample 

Starch 

in 

Loss 

of  starch 

Forage 

Silage 

Silage  from 
100  gm.  dry 
forage 

Gm. 

Gm. 

Gm. 

Gm. 

Per  cent 

8 ft.  from  top 

28.0 

22.9 

8 ft.  from  top 

27.3 

22.8 

8 ft.  from  top 

27.1 

22.3 

Average 

27.5 

22.7 

20.4 

7.1 

25.9 

5 ft.  from  bottom 

27.1 

21.5 

5 ft.  frdm  bottom 

27.7 

21.6 

5 it.  from  bottom 

26.6 

20.7 

Average 

27.1 

21.3 

19.2 

7.9 

29.2 

tent.  They  give  no  figures  on  the  loss  of  dry  matter  so  it  is  impossible 
to  decide  whether  there  was  an  actual  destruction  of  starch  or  not. 

The  data  given  in  Table  XIII  show  both  a percentage  and  an  actual 
decrease  in  the  starch  content  of  the  silage  over  the  corn  forage.  The 
average  decrease  for  the  top  and  bottom  series  of  bags  is  20  per  cent, 
by  direct  comparison  of  the  forage  and  silage,  and  27  per  cent  if  the  loss 
of  dry  matter  is  considered  in  making  the  Calculation.  The  data  here 
given  are  on  the  composite  sample  for  the  three  bags  at  each  level. 
Three  sub-samples  were  taken  of  each  composite  sample  and  were 
analyzed  in  duplicate  so  that  the  average  figure  of  27  per  cent  loss 
represents  24  different  determinations.  The  loss  is  surprisingly  high 
and  should  be  accepted  only  tentatively  until  sufficient  data  have  been 
accumulated  to  determine  whether  such  large  losses  are  usual  or  ex- 
ceptional. 

Destruction  of  Pentosans — Annett  and  Russell  (2)  reported  a loss  of 
32  per  cent  of  furfural-yielding  substances  in  ensiling  rather  immature 
corn.  Shaw  and  Norton’s  data  show  a decrease  in  the  furfural-yielding 
substance  in  the  silage  as  compared  with  the  corn  forage.  Assuming 
a loss  of  10  per  cent  dry  matter  in  their  fermentation,  the  average  loss 
of  furfural  for  two  years  experiments  is  17  per  cent.  In  a previous  pa- 
per from  this  station  it  was  shown  that  from  15  to  20  per  cent  of  the 
pentosans  in  corn  forage  are  destroyed  by  ensiling.  The  results  obtained 
in  the  present  investigation  are  even  higher,  ranging  from 


24 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 


20  to  30  per  cent.  The  higher  figures  may  be  due  to  a more  extensive 
fermentation  and  a longer  period  of  ensiling. 

The  data  are  given  in  Table  XIV  and  show  a decrease  in  pentosans 
from  19.6  per  cent  in  the  corn  forage  to  15  to  16  per  cent  in  the  silage. 
The  loss  in  dry  matter  in  these  samples  ranged  around  10  per  cent. 

Table  XIV. — Destruction  of  Pentosans  in  the  Formation  of  Corn 

Silage 


Calculated  for  100  gms.  of  dry  matter 


Sample 

Age  of 
silage 

Pento- 
sans in 
forage 

Pento- 
sans in 
silage 

Pentosans 
in  Silage 
from 
100  gm. 
dry 

forage* 

Loss  of 
Pentosans 

Series  of  1921 

Days 

Gm. 

Gm. 

Gm. 

Gm. 

Per  cent 

Top  silage,  uninoculated  . 

38 

19.6 

16.3 

14.7** 

4.9 

25.0 

Top  silage,  inoculated  . . . 

38 

19.6 

16.2 

14.6** 

5.0 

25.5 

Top  silage,  inoculated  . . . 
Bottom  silage,  uninocu- 

38 

19.6 

15.2 

13.7** 

5.9 

30.1 

lated 

139 

19.6 

15.3 

14.6 

5.0 

25.5 

Bottom  silage,  inoculated. 

139 

19.6 

15.7 

15.3 

4.3 

21.9 

Bottom  silage,  inoculated. 
Series  of  1922 

139 

19.6 

16.4 

15.7 

3.9 

20.0 

Top  silage,  uninoculated  . 
Bottom  silage,  uninocu- 

132 

19.5 

16.6 

14.6 

4.9 

'25.1 

lated 

146 

19.5 

| 16.2 

1 

14.5 

5.0 

25.6 

^Obtained  from  column  three  by  correcting  for  loss  of  dry  matter. 

**In  calculating  these  figures  a 10  per  cent  loss  of  dry  matter  was  assumed. 


Allowing  for  this  additional  loss  the  actual  loss  of  pentosans  as  given 
in  column  five  is  found  to  be  from  4 to  5 gm.  per  hundred  grams  of  dry 
corn  fodder. 

The  above  figures  are  from  two  years  experiments  and  probably 
represent  the  usual  loss  in  silage  making.  It  is  probable  that  alcohol 
and  acid  originate  from  the  fermentation  of  pentosans  as  well  as 
from  sugars. 

Effect  of  Inoculation  on  the  Production  of  Silage 

The  possibility  of  reducing  the  losses  and  improving  the  quality  of. 
silage  by  inoculating  the  corn  forage  has  been  considered  by  a number 
of  investigators.  The  results  obtained  can  not  be  said  to  prove  definitely 
that  inoculation  influence's  the  quality  of  the  silage  or  the  kind  of  the 
fermentation  products  formed.  To  prove  that  the  added  bacteria  func- 
tion in  the  process  is  a difficult  matter  owing  to  the  fact  that  their  pre- 
sence may  be  masked  by  the  abundant  flora  which  is  normally  found  in 
corn  silage. 

If  the  added  bacteria  play  any  considerable  part  in  the  fermentatton, 
their  presence  should  be  indicated  both  by  their  numbers  and  by  their 
characteristic  fermentation  products.  The  latter  is  probably  the  more 
reliable  index  and  should  be  particularly  evident  in  the  early  stages  of 
the  fermentation. 


Changes  In  The  Maki'ng  of  Silage  25 

Experimental  Silage  Made  in  Milk  Bottles — The  first  work  on  the 
effect  of  inoculation  was  done  in  the  fall  of  1919,  when  selected  cultures 
of  bacteria  which  had  been  isolated  from  corn  silage,  were  used  to 
inoculate  both  sterilized  and  unsterilized  corn  forage.  The  forage 
was  inoculated  with  the  culture  and  then  packed  into  milk  bottles 
closed  with  a one-hole  rubber  stopper  through  which  passed  a bent 
glass  tube.  The  free  end  of  the  glass  tube  was  sealed  by  insert- 
ing in  a test  tube  containing  2 or  3 inches  of  mercury.  The  bottles 
were  incubated  for  10  days  at  27°  C.  and  during  this  time  a strong 
evolution  of  gas  was  noted.  When  opened  all  except  the  sterilized,  un- 
inoculated controls  had  about  the  same  odor  and  taste  as  that  of  nor- 
mal silage.  The  contents  of  each  bottle  was  analyzed  and  the  data  ob- 
tained are  given  in  Table  XV.  A comparison  of  the  data  from  the  un- 
sterilized silage  with  and  without  inoculation  shows  an  increase  of 
from  20  to  120  per  cent  in  the  fermentation  products  as  a result  of 
inoculating  the  forage.  The  sterilized  corn  was  changed  into  a silage 
which  contained  large  quantities  of  the  fermentation  products  normally 
found  in  silage.  It  is  evident  that  added  bacteria  can  produce  silage 
without  the  aid  of  plant  enzymes,  and  even  when  plant  enzymes  and 
the  natural  bacterial  flora  are  present,  can  markedly  influence  the 
quantity  of  products  formed. 

Experimental  Silage  in  Large  Containers — In  1920  the  effect  of  in- 
oculation was  tried  on  a larger  scale.  In  one  series  50  gallon  barrels 
were  used  and  in  another  series  two  metal  tanks  8 feet  high  and  4 
feet  in  diameter  were  filled  with  inoculated  corn.  These  experimental 
silos  were  filled  at  the  same  time  as  one  of  the  large  silos  was  being 
filled.  The  corn  was'  in  excellent  condition  for  silage  making;  the 
ears  were  well  matured  but  the  leaves  and  stalks  were  still  green. 

Samples  of  silage  were  removed  for  analysis  at  three  different  times 
during  the  fermentation.  Numbers  of  bacteria  and  fermentation  prod- 
ucts were  determined  each  time.  The  complete  data  have  already 
been  published  and  only  the  last  analyses  are  given  in  Table  XV.  In 
general  the  inoculated  silage  showed  a more  vigorous  and  sustained 
fermentation  than  the  uninoculated  controls.  The  differences  in  the 
numbers  of  bacteria  were  most  marked  after  12  days,  showing  a 
much  greater  persistence  of  bacteria  in  the  inoculated  samples.  The 
increase  in  bacterial  count  is  greater  in  the  silage  inoculated  with  a 
mixed  culture  than  in  that  inoculated  with  a single  strain  of  bacteria. 

The  large  number  of  bacteria  in  the  inoculated  silage  is  associated 
with  an  increase  in  fermentation  products.  These  products  are  char- 
acteristic of  the  added  bacteria.  The  silage  inoculated  with  L.  pento- 
accticus  shows  a pronounced  increase  in  acetic  acid  and  ethyl  alcohol.  These 
products  are  the  compounds  characteristic  of  the  added  bacteria  as  has 
been  shown  by  fermentation  of  various  sugars.  Judging  from  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  plates  and  from  the  fermentation  tests  with  lactose 
and  xylose,  it  was  concluded  that  the  S.  lactis  type  persisted  and  acted 


Table  XV. — Comparison  of  Silage  Made  from  Corn  With  and  Without  Inoculation 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 


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Changes  In  The  Making  of  Silage 


27 


only  during  the  first  days  of  the  fermentation  and  that  the  L.  pentoace- 
ticus  type  is  the  predominant  type  during  the  last  stages  of  the  fermenta- 
tion. 

Effect  of  Inoculation  under  Conditions  Existing  in  the  Silos — In  1921, 
the  effect  of  inoculation  was  studied  under  silo  conditions  by  inoculating 
corn  forage,  packing  this  in^  water  proof  bags,  and  burying  these  in  the 
silo  at'  the  time  of  filling.  The  inoculum  consisted  of  a 1 per  cent 
yeast-water  solution  in  which  the  bacteria  had  been  grown  for  three 
days.  200  cc.  of  this  culture  was  sprinkled  on  the  corn  forage  as  it 
was  placed  in  the  bag  and  the  contents  of  each  bag  thoroughly  mixed 
after  each  sprinkling.  An  equal  quantity  of  water  was  added  to  the 
control  bags.  The  same  water  tight  bags  used  in  the  1922  work  were 
employed  and  40  lbs.  of  cut  corn  placed  in  each  bag.  Three  sets  of  bags 
were  placed  in  the  silo;  one  set  5 ft.  from  the  bottom,  a second  set 
near  the  middle  and  a third  set  5 ft.  from  the  top. 

The  corn  was  in  excellent  condition  for  ensiling  when  the  first  set 
of  bags  was  placed  in  the  silo  but  rain  that  night  and  for  several  days 
thereafter  made  it  impossible  to  haul  from  the  low  land  where  the 
first  lot  of  corn  was  obtained.  After  10  days  it  was  decided  to  fill  the 
rest  of  the  silo  with  corn  from  higher  land.  This  corn  was  extremely 
dry  and  water  had  to  be  added  during  the  cutting.  The  quantity  of 
water  necessary  to  bring  the  moisture  content  of  the  silage  up  to 
69  per  cent  was  measured  by  means  of  a water  meter  connected  in  the 
hose  line.  Moisture  tests  on  the  wetted  forage  showed  that  it  had 
not  absorbed  sufficient  water  to  bring  the  moisture  content  up  to  the 
desired  percentage.  Matured  and  partly  dried  plant  tissue  does  not 
readily  absorb  water.  It  is  highly  probable  that  much  poor  silage  re- 
suh.s  from  the  erroneous  idea  that  addition  of  water  to  dry  corn  gives 
as  good  results  as  ensiling  corn  of  the  proper  maturity. 

The  first  or  uninoculated  bag  in  each  series  served  as  a control.  The 
second  bag  was  inoculated  with  a culture  of  L.  pentosus  No.  124-2. 
T liis  organism  produces  lactic  acid  almost  entirely  from  the  hexoses, 
and  acetic  and  lactic  acids  from  the  pentoses.  The  third  bag  was 
inoculated  with  a mixture  of  L.  arabinosus,  No.  102  and  L.  pentoaceti- 
cus  No.  41-11.  The  first  culture  is  much  like  124-2  but  does  not  fer- 
ment xylose ; the  second  forms  alcohol  and  carbon  dioxide  from  the  al- 
dohexoses.  and  like  124-2  and  102  acetic  and  lactic  acids  from  pentoses. 
If  the  added  bacteria  dominated  the  fermentation,  lactic  acid  should 
be  high  and  alcohol  and  acetic  acid  low  in  bag  No.  2.  In  bag  No.  3 
the  conditions  would  In-  the  same  as  in  No.  2 if  culture  102  predominated 
during  the  fermentation,  and  high  in  alcohol  if  No.  41-11  were  the 
determining  factor. 

The  data  are  given  in  Table  XVI  and  show  a somewhat  higher 
acidity  for  the  inoculated  than  for  the  uninoculated  silage,  in  the  case 
of  six  out  of  seven  bags.  The  influence  of  cultures  142-2  and  102  is  dis- 
tinctly shown  in  the  four  cases  of  the  top  and  middle  series. 


28 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 


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Changes  In  The  Making  of  Silage 


29 


The  data  for  alcohol  show  no  outstanding  effect  of  inoculation  in  the 
first  series,  but  in  the  second  series  this  product  is  low,  as  would  be 
expected  from  cultures  124-2  and  102. 

The  third  bag  in  the  bottom  group  contained  a silage  somewhat  un- 
usual in  composition.  The  acetic  acid  and  the  ethyl  alcohol  were  unus- 
ually high,  and  the  lactic  acid  particularly  low.  These  data  suggest  a 
secondary  fermentation  of  lactic  acid,  with  the  production  of  acetic 
acid  and  possibly  ethyl  alcohol.  Culture  41-11  has  been  found  to  pro- 
duce such  a change  in  old  fermentations.  After  all  the  sugar  has  been 
destroyed,  it  attacks  the  lactic  acid  and  forms  acetic  acid  and  carbon 
dioxide.  The  evidence  strongly  indicates  that  this  had  taken  place. 

This  silage  was  also  examined  for  esters  and  aldehydes.  The  acetic 
acid  in  the  form  of  an  ester,  per  100  gm.  of  dry  silage,  amounted  to 

0.120,  0.230  and  0.320.  gm.  for  bags  Nos.  1,  2 and  3 respectively.  A distinct 
color  test  for  aldehyde  was  obtained  from  all  three  silages  by  the 
Schiff  and  Lewin  tests.  Since  the  latter  test  is  almost  specific  for 
acetaldehyde,  being  given  by  only  a few  aldehydes  other  than  acetalde- 
hyde, it  may  be  assumed  that  this  compound  was  present.  A quantita- 
tive determination  by  the  Ripper  von-Fiirth  method  gave  from  5 to  10 
mg.  per  100  gm.  of  dry  silage. 

Iodoform  was  formed  when  the  distillate  was  tested  by  Goodwin’s 
modification  of  the  Messinger  method  for  acetone.  Since  acetaldehyde 
forms  iodoform  under  these  conditions,  it  is  not  possible  to  say  whether 
acetone  was  present  or  not  but  the  presence  of  an  abundance  of  starch 
in  silage  would  be  conducive  to  the  growth  of  acetone-producing  bac- 
teria. 

The  color,  odor  and  flavor  of  the  different  samples  were  judged  by  a 
number  of  persons  familiar  with  silage,  but  no  decided  difference  in 
quality  was  ‘found.  The  first  series  of  samples  was  too  dry  to  be 
called  good  silage.  The  second  series  was  normal  in  all  respects,  with 
the  sample  inoculated  with  cultures  41-11  and  102  slightly  superior  to 
the  other  two.  In  the  third  series  the  control  and  the  124-2  silage  were 
both  good  but  the  silage  inoculated  with  the  mixed  culture  had  a sweet- 
ish ethereal  odor  not  found  in  good  silage.  As  already  mentioned  the 
analysis  showed  the  presence  of  considerable  quantities  of  ester. 

Summary 

1.  — The  first  noticeable  change  in  the  making  of  silage  is  in  the  com- 
position of  the  «ilo  gases.  The  oxygen  disappears  in  4 to  5 hours.  The 
carbon  dioxide  increases  rapidly  for  about  48  hours  when  it  comprises 
from  60  to  70  per  cent  of  the  silo  gases.  After  this  time  it  begins  to 
fall  and  continues  to  decrease  for  several  months.  No  trace  of  hydro- 
gen, methane  or  other  hydrocarbons  is  found  in  the  silage  gases. 

2.  — The  second  most  immediate  effect  is  an  increase  in  temperature 
amounting  to  7°C.  near  the  bottom  and  20° C,  4 ft,  from  the  top  of 
the  silo.  The  temperature  continues  to  increase  for  15  days  and  then 
falls  off,  but  continues  at  a high  level  for  60  to  70  days. 


30 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  61 


3.  — Fermentation  products  appear  in  marked  quantities  simultaneous- 
ly with  the  appearance  of  large  numbers  of  bacteria ; from  24  to  48 
hours  after  ensiling.  It  is  therefore  probable  that  the  bacteria  are  the 
chief  agents  involved  in  the  production  of  ethyl  alcohol,  acetic  and 
lactic  acids.  These  compounds  originate  mainly  from  the  sugars,  but 
a marked  destruction  of  pentosans  and  starch  indicates  that  the  latter 
substances  are  also  in  part  converted  into  fermentation  products. 

4.  — Almost  coincident  with  the  increase  in  acid,  there  is  a decided 
change  in  the  bacterial  flora.  Within  12  to  24  hours  after  the  corn 
is  cut  and  placed  in  the  silo  there  is  a vast  gain  in  the  total  number  of 
bacteria,  chiefly  the  lactic  acid  organisms.  The  forms  commonly  pre- 
valent on  green  plant  tissue,  the  chromogenic  bacteria,  the  slow 
growing  non-acid  forming  rods  and  cocci  soon  disappear  and  in  turn  are 
replaced  by  the  high  acid-formers.  The  conditions  for  the  growth  of 
the  lactic  acid  bacteria  in  the  silo  are  excellent,  hence  they  reach  almost 
unbelievable  numbers — frequently  hundreds  or  thousands  of  millions 
in  one  cubic  centimeter  of  the  juice.  This  huge  mass  of  micro-organ- 
isms exists  for  only  a short  time.  Owing  to  unfavorable  conditions, 
such  as  the  accumulation  of  products  of  growth,  they  begin  to  die  off. 
Although  the  evidence  is  not  conclusive,  it  is  probable  that  the  great 
mass  of  bacteria  in  silage  is  a result  of  the  successive  growth  of  dif- 
ferent groups  of  bacteria  rather  than  the  persistance  of  one  group  over 
a period  of  several  weeks. 

Of  the  various  groups  of  aciduric  bacteria  present  in  fermenting 
silage  none  is  present  in  greater  numbers  and  is  more  active  than 
the  pentose-fermenters.  Aside  from  the  breaking  down  of  pentoses, 
the  majority  of  these  organisms  play  an  important  role  in  the  formation 
of  alcohol.  These  so-called  mannitol-forming  bacteria  are  no  doubt 
the  active  agents  in  the  production  of  ethyl  alcohol.  At  the  time  of 
filling  there  were  approximately  500,000  yeast  cells  per  cc.,  two  days 
later  this  number  decreased  to  less  than  35,000  and  remained  at  less 
than  10,000  throughout  the  entire  experiment. 

5.  — Approximately  10  per  cent  of  the  dry  matter,  25  per  cent  of  the 
pentosans  and  25  per  cent  of  the  starch  contained  in  the  corn  forage 
are  destroyed  as  a result  of  ensiling  for  4 months. 

6.  — Silage  can  be  made  without  the  aid  of  the  living  plant  cell. 
Sterilized  corn  inoculated  with  L.  pentoaceticus  bacteria  produced  a silage 
similar  in  composition  to  that  of  normal  silage. 

7.  — Inoculation  of  corn  forage  with  certain  bacteria  produces  a more 
vigorous  and  sustained  fermentation.  The  effect  of  inoculation  is  seen 
in  an  increase  in  the  number  of  bacteria  and  in  the  quantity  of  fer- 
mentation products.  These  products  are  the  same  as  those  produced 
from  various  sugars  by  the  added  bacteria. 

Under  field  conditions,  the  quality  of  naturally  fermented 
corn  is  usually  so  good  that  the  cost  and  extra  time  required  for 
inoculation  hardly  seems  desirable.  Under  conditions  where  it  is  not 
possible  to  secure  corn  of  even  ripeness,  it  may  be  found  advantageous 
to  use  artificial  inoculation.  Additional  work  on  this  phase  of  the 
silage  study  should  be  carried  out  before  a definite  statement  can  be 
made. 


LITERATURE  CITED 


(1)  Amos,  A.,  and  Woodman,  H.  E. 

1922  An  Investigation  into  the  Changes  Which  Occur  During  the 
Ensilage  of  Oats  and  Tares.  In  Jour.  Agr.  Sci.  v.  12,  Part 
4,  p.  337-362. 

(2)  Annett,  H.  E.,  and  Russell,  E.  J. 

1908  The  Composition  of  Green  Maize  and  of  the  Silage  Pro- 
duced Therefrom.  In  Jour.  Agr.  Sci.,  v.  2,  Part  4,  p.  382-391. 

(3)  Barthel,  C. 

1921  Vid  ensilageberedning  forekommande  jasningar.  In  Kgl. 

Land,  Akad.  Handl.  Tidskrift.,  v.  60  p.  92. 

(4)  Dox,  A.  W.,  and  Yoder,  L. 

1920  Influence  of  Fermentation  on  the  Starch  Content  of  Ex- 
perimental Silage.  In  Jour,  Agr.  Research,  v.  19,  p.  173-179. 

(5)  Edin.,  H.  and  Sandberg,  E. 

1922  Om  Ensilering  och  Ensilage.  Orienterande  Litteraturstudier 

och  Forsok.  In  Meddelande  No.  221  fron  Centralanstalten 
forsoksvasendet  pa  jorbruksomradet  Husdjursavdenlingen 
No.  33.  Bakteriologiska  avdelningen,  No.  26,  90  pages. 

(6)  Esten,  W.  M.,  and  Mason,  C.  J. 

1912  Silage  Fermentation.  In  Conn.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  70,  40  p. 

(7)  Folin,  O.,  and  Wu,  H. 

1919  A System  of  Blood  Analysis.  In  Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  v.  38,  p. 
81-110. 

(8)  Fred,  E.  B.,  Peterson.  W.  H.  and  Anderson,  J.  A. 

1921  The  Characteristics  of  Certain  Pentose-Destroying  Bacteria. 
Especially  as  Concerns  Their  Action  on  Arabinose  and  Xylose 

In  Jour.  Biol.  Chem.  v.  48.  p.  385. 

(9)  Fiirth,  O.,  and  Charnass,  D. 

1910  tiber  die  Quantitative  Bestimmung  der  Milchsaure  durch 
Ermittlung  der  Abspaltharen  Aldehydmenge.  In  Biochem. 
Z.,  v.  26.  p.  199-230. 

(10)  Gorini,  C. 

1919  Studi  sui  silo  Lattici  in  Base  Alla  Fisiologia  Microbica.  In 
Reale  Institute  Lombardo  di  Scienze  E.  Lettre.,  v.  53,  p. 
192-205. 

(11)  Hawk,  P.  B. 

1921  Practical/  Physiological  Chemistry.  P.  Blakiston  & Co. 

Philadelphia.  7th  Edition  p.  519. 

(12)  Hunter,  C.  A. 

1921  Bacteriological  and  Chemical  Studies  of  Different  Kinds  of 
Silage.  In  Jour.  Agr.  Research,  v.  21,  10,  p.  767-789. 

(13)  Hunter,  O.  W. 

1917  Microorganisms  and  Heat  Production  in  Silage  Fermenta- 
tion. In  Journ.  Agr.  Research,  v.  10,  No.  2,  p.  75-83. 

(14)  Krober,  E. 

1901  Untersuchungen  iiber  die  Pentosanbestimmungen  Miftelst 
der  Salzsaure  Phloroglucinmethode  Nebst  Einige  Anwen- 
dungen.  In  Jour.  Landw.,  v.  48,  Heft  4,  p.  357-384. 

(15)  Kuchler,  L.  F. 

1923  Electro  Silage  in  Germany.  In.  Int.  Rev.  Sci.  and  Practice 
of  Agr.,  New  Series,  v.  1,  No.  4,  p.  857-876. 


(16)  Lamb,  A.  R. 

1917.  The  Relative  Influence  of  Microorganisms  and  Plant  En- 
zymes on  Corn  Silage  Fermentations.  In  Iowa  Agr.  Exp. 
Sta,  Bui.  40,  20  p. 

(17)  Neidig,  P.  E. 

1914  Chemical  Changes  During  Silage  Formation.  In  Iowa  Agr. 
Sta.,  Research  Bui.,  No.  16,  22  p. 

(18)  Neidig,  R.  E.,  and  Snyder,  R.  S. 

1921  The  Application  of  the  Van  Slyke  Method  to  Hydrolyzed 
Protein  Extracts  of  Silage  Crops.  In  Jour.  Amer.  Cherrt.  Soc., 
v.  p.  951-959. 

(19)  Perkins,  A.  E. 

1923  Losses  'and  Exchanges  of  Materials  during  the  Storage  of 
Corn  as  Silage.  In  Ohio,  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  370,  16  p. 

(20)  Peterson,  W.  H.,  and  Fred,  E.  B. 

1920  The  Role  of  Pentose-Fermenting  Bacteria  in  the  Production  of 
Corn  Silage.  In  Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  v.  41,  p.  181-186. 

(21)  Peterson,  W.  H.,  Fred,  E.  B.,  and  Verhulst,  J.  H. 

1921  The  Destruction  of  Pentosans  in  the  Formation  of  Silage. 
In  Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  v.  46,  p.  329-338. 

(22)  Peterson,  W.  H.,  and  Fred,  E.  B. 

1920  The  Fermentation  of  Glucose,  Galactose  and  Mannose  by 
Lactobacillus  Pentoaceticus,  N.  Sp.  In  Jour.  Biol.  Chem., 
v.  42,  p.  273. 

(23)  Ragsdale,  A.  C.,  and  Turner,  C.  W. 

1924  Silage  Investigations.  Loss  of  Nutrients  in  the  Silo  and 
During  the  Field  Curing  of  Corn.  In  Mo.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.,  Re- 
search Bui.  65,  10  p. 

(24)  Russell,  E.  J. 

1908  The  Chemical  Changes  Taking  Place  During  the  Ensilage  of 
Maize.  In  Jour.  Agr.  Sci.,  v.  2,  Part  4,  p.  392-410. 

(25)  Shaw,  R.  H.,  and  Norton,  R.  P.  ,. 

1920  A Comparative  Study  of  Corn  Silage  in  Concrete  and  Stave 
Silos.  In  Jour.  Diary  Sci.  v.  3,  p.  300-307. 

(26)  Shaw,  R.  H.,  Wright,  P.  A.,  and  Deysher,  E.  F. 

1921  Nitrogen  and  Other  Losses  During  the  Ensiling  of  Corn.  In 
U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Bur.  Animal  Indus.,  Bui.  953,  16  p. 

(27)  Shaffer,  P.  A.,  Hartmann,  A.  F. 

1921  The  Iodometric  Determination  of  Copper  and  Its  Use  in 
Sugar  Analysis.  In  Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  45,  p.  349-390. 

(28)  Sherman,  J.  M. 

1916  A Contribution  to  the  Bacteriology  of  Silage.  In  Jour.  Bact. 
v.  1,  p.  445-452. 

(29)  Van  Slyke,  D.  D. 

1912  The  Quantitative  Determination  of  Aliphatic  Amino  Groups. 
In.  Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  v.  12,  p.  275-284. 

( j0J  Woodman,  H.  E.,  and  Ambs,  A. 

1924  Further  Investigations  into  the  Changes  Which  Occur  Dur- 
ing the  Ensiling  of  a Green  Crop.  In  Jour.  Agr.  Sci.,  v.  14 
Part  1,  p.  99-113. 


Research  Bulletin  62 


August,  1925 


Experiments  on  the  Control  of  Wildfire 
of  Tobacco 


OCT 

JAMES  JOHNSON  and  HERBERT  F.  MURWIN 


Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
of  the 

University  of  Wisconsin 
Madison 


CONTENTS 

Introduction  . 1 

Summary  of  Earlier  Work ~ 1 

Overwintering  Studies  3 

Dissemination  Studies  8 

Spread  of  Wildfire  in  the  Field  8 

Seed  Bed  Infestation  10 

Dusting  and  Spraying  Experiments  11 

Seed  Disinfection  14 

Loss  of  Virulence 17 

The  Wildfire  Toxin  19 

Practical  Considerations  20 

Summary  23 

Literature  Cited  „ 35 


Experiments  on  the  Control  of 
Wildfire  of  Tobacco' 


THE  CONTROL  of  the  wildfire  disease  of  tobacco  caused  by 
Bacterium  tabacum  (Wolf  and  Foster)  has  been  the  subject 
of  considerable  investigation  since  the  outbreak  of  the  disease 
in  North  Carolina  in  1917  (14).  The  outstanding  observation,  bearing  on 
control,  has  been  the  fact  that  the  disease  originates  in  the  seed  bed 
and  that  practically  all  cases  of  field  infections  are  traceable  to  this 
source.  The  prevention  of  seed  bed  infection  is,  therefore,  the  most 
logical  aim  of  all  methods  of  control.  This  naturally  involves  : first,  the 
determination  of  how  or  on  what  materials  the  causal  organism  lives 
over  winter  or  from  one  crop  to  the  next;  and  second,  methods  of  pre- 
venting such  infected  material  from  being  introduced  into  the  seed  beds. 

Once  seed  bed  infection  occurs  and  is  discovered,  the  grower  must 
choose  between  discarding  the  infected  plant  beds  entirely  or  taking  a 
risk  in  using  some  or  all  of  the  plants,  relying  on  unfavorable  weather 
conditions  to  prevent  further  serious  spread  of  the  disease.  This  latter 
method  is  economically  hazardous,  as  it  is  likely  that  the  disease  may 
prove  disastrous  to  a crop  if  proper  weather  conditions  for  the  dis- 
semination and  the  development  of  the  disease  occur.  Precautions  to 
prevent  dissemination  in  the  field  are  of  doubtful  value  as  a means  of 
control;  their  effectiveness  is  at  least  very  limited,  and  probably  more 
often  they  are  effective  only  under  relatively  unfavorable  weather  con- 
ditions for  the  development  of  disease. 

The  investigations  reported  in  this  bulletin  are  consequently  mainly 
concerned  with  a study  of  the  factors  which  may  account  for  seed  bed 
infection,  together  with  methods  of  preventing  such  infection.  The 
practical  conclusions  arrived  at  are  also  to  a considerable  extent  in- 
fluenced by  several  years  of  observational  studies  made  during  field 
surveys. 

Summary  of  Earlier  Work 

The  control  of  tobacco  wildfire  has  received  some  experimental  at- 
tention in  most  of  the  tobacco  districts  in  which  it  has  occurred.  While 
some  difference  of  opinion  exists  as  to  the  relative  importance  of  the 
methods  of  overwintering  of  the  causal  organism,  practically  all  in- 
vestigators agree  that  the  causal  organisms  may  survive  from  one 
crop  to  the  next  on  infected  and  cured  tobacco  leaf,  except  that  in  flue- 
cured  tobacco  sufficient  heat  may  be  used  to  kill  the  organism.  The 
subsequent  dissemination  of  this  infective  material  to  the  seed  beds 


Cooperative  experiments  with  Office  of  Tobacco  Investigations,  Bureau  of 
Plant  Industry,  I’nited  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 


2 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


may  naturally  occur  in  several  ways,  the  most  unusual  of  which  has 
been  announced  by  Valleau  and  Hubbard  (13)  who  claim  that  the 
wildfire  organism  is  commonly  transmitted  through  the  spitting  of 
tobacco  juice  into  the  seed  beds. 

Wolf  (15)  and  Fromme  and  Wingard  (5)  were  first  to  point  out  the 
possibility  of  overwintering  on  seed  and  introduced  the  formalin  and 
corrosive  sublimate  seed  treatments  respectively  as  control  measures 
for  tobacco  wildfire.  The  importance  of  overwintering  on  seed  in  the 
Connecticut  Valley  has  been  questioned  by  Anderson  and  Chapman  (1) 
and  Clinton  and  McCormick  (3). 

Similarly,  overwintering  in  soil  has  been  suggested  by  the  earlier 
workers,  but  this  again  has  been  questioned  by  more  recent  observa- 
tions and  experiments. 

Information  concerning  the  possibility  of  overwintering  of  the  wild- 
fire organism  on  seed  bed  covers  (cloth  and  sash)  and  frames  is  espe- 
cially meager.  The  possibility  has  been  recognized,  however,  and  re- 
ported in  some  cases  as  occurring  (15). 

Tobacco  stems  (leaf-midribs)  both  in  commercial  fertilizers  and  as 
untreated  fertilizer  material  have  been  held  responsible,  by  observa- 
tion, for  some  cases  of  overwintering.  This  seems  least  likely  in  the 
case  of  the  manufactured  fertilizers  containing  stems  where  heat  treat- 
ment is  used  (15).  Untreated  stems  and  stalks,  since  they  usually  carry 
leaf  fragment^  which  may  naturally  be  infected,  are  probable  overwin- 
tering carriers  as  pointed  out  by  Anderson  and  Chapman  (1). 

Experimental  evidence  on  the  actual  dissemination  of  the  wildfire 
organism  is  small  and  fragmentary.  Observational  evidence  is  abun- 
dant but  rarely  convincing.  Since  almost  any  material  which  has  been 
exposed  so  as  to  carry  the  causal  organism  physically  may  conceivably 
carry  it  from  place  to  place,  this  subject  is  not  a very  fruitful  one  for 
satisfactory  speculation  or  experimentation. 

It  has  been  suggested  by  various  workers  that  long  distance  dissem- 
ination may  occur  most  often  through  transportation  of  infected 
seed,  plants,  or  commercial  tobaccos  and  by  dry  winds.  With  respect 
to  transmission  of  the  disease  from  plant  to  plant,  in  seed  beds  and 
in  the  fields,  all  investigators  agree  on  the  effectiveness  of  rain,  especially 
when  accompanied  by  strong  wind.  Heavy  storms  and  hail  which  in- 
jure the  leaf  surface  are  especially  favorable  to  subsequent  heavy  in- 
fections as  well  as  for  dissemination  . 

The  control  of  wildfire  in  the  seed  beds  by  dusting  or  spraying  fre- 
quently with  copper-lime  dusts  or  Bordeaux  mixture  has  been  rec- 
ommended by  workers  in  the  Connecticut  Valley.  When  properly  ap- 
plied it  is  claimed  to  be  an  effective  control  measure.  This  method 
has  not  been  generally  adopted  outside  of  New  England  and  some 
question  as  to  its  value  has  already  been  raised  in  our  work  (8).  Dust- 
ing and  spraying  in  the  field  has  received  some  attention  by  other 
workers  (12)  with  negative  results. 

Since  the  work  reported  in  this  paper  had  been  practically  com- 
pleted, Anderson  (2)  has  published  his  results  on  overwintering  of 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco 


3 


tobacco  wildfire  in  New  England.  His  results  indicate  that  the  bac- 
teria winter  most  successfully  in  situations  where  they  are  not  sub- 
jected to  keen  competition  from  the  growth  of  other  organisms — prin- 
cipally in  fairly  dry  situations — and  that  they  winter  least  successfully 
under  conditions  moist  enough  for  competing  organisms  to  grow.  He 
concludes  the  wildfire  organism  may  overwinter  on  cured  leaves  in 
the  barn,  plants  standing  in  the  field,  on  boards,  sash,  and  dry  frag- 
ments of  seed  pods,  but  that  overwintering  in  leaves  exposed  to  decay 
or  in  the  soil  is  least  likely. 


Overwintering  Studies 

The  overwintering  experiments  were  designed  to  determine  how  long 
and  under  what  conditions  the  wildfire  organism  is  most  likely  to  sur- 
vive the  period  during  which  its  host  plants  normally  can  not  be  the 
source  of  its  propagation.  The  main  tests  have  been  made  with  artifi- 
cially infested  materials  which  are  most  likely  to  be  concerned  with 
overwintering  and  seed  bed  infection.  These  have  been  stored  under 
different  conditions  in  most  instances,  and  tested  from  time  to  time  as 
to  their  ability  to  yield  infection  when  placed  in  contact  with  young 
tobacco  plants.  It  has  been  assumed  that  the  application  of  infected 
material  to  a unit  area,  in  many  cases  hundreds  of  times  greater  in 
quantity  than  that  which  would  occur  under  natural  conditions,  reduces 
the  errors  which  might  result  from  working  with  only  a relatively  small 
amount'  of  material.  Conditions  for  infection  have  been  made  as  ideal 
as  possible  both  by  wounding  the  plants  and  by  maintaining  favorable 
environmental  conditions.  Considerable  variation  in  this  condition  is 
evident,  however,  from  the  results.  Tests  were  made  soon  after  the 

materials  concerned  were  infested  and  before  storing  away  in  all 

cases  to  make  certain  that  the  causal  organism  was  pathogenic  at  the 
start  of  the  test.  The  results  are,  therefore,  believed  to  be  reliable 

from  the  experimental  standpoint.  From  a practical  standpoint  we 

have  also  tested  out  materials  supposedly  infected  naturally,  and  made  a 
considerable  number  of  field  observations,  and  these  factors  are  also 
taken  into  consideration  in  drawing  final  conclusions. 

In  the  1922  experiments  artificial  applications  to  seed,  boards,  cloth, 
soil,  etc.  were  made!  with  both  pure  cultures  of  the  organism  and  with 
the  juice  extracted  from  badly  infected  green  leaves.  Two  different 
sets  of  applications  were  made  known  as  Series  I and  Series  II.  These 
materials  were  divided  up  into  separate  portions  each  suitable  for  one 
test.  It  was  planned  to  store  one-half  of  this  material  out-of-doors  in 
the  winter  months,  but  this  was  not  done  in  some  instances  because 
the  organisms  were  apparently  dead  on  those  materials  most  commonly 
out-of-doors  in  winter,  before  the  winter  months  arrived.  The  cured 
leaf  material  was  cured  under  normal  conditions  in  the  shed,  and  the 
buried  leaves  were,  of  course,  outside  all  winter. 

The  1923  materials  were  inoculated  artificially  with  dried  crushed 
leaves,  for  the  reason,  that  this  would  seem  from  our  1922  experiments 


4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


to  offer  the  best  opportunity  for  the  persistence  of  the  causal  organism 
over  winter.  Part  of  this  material  was  stored  at  room  temperature  and 
part  in  a weather-instrument  chamber  out  of  doors  where  the  material 
was  protected  from  rainfall. 

Inoculations  with  these  materials  have  been  tried  in  several  ways. 
Frequently  they  were  made  by  scrubbing  or  washing  of  the  materials 
in  a small  amount  of  water  and  making  fifty  wound  inoculations  on 
individual  plants  in  pots  with  the  washings.  In  other  cases  platings 
on  agar  were  made  from  the  materials  and  wildfire-like  colonies  used 
for  inoculation.  More  reliable  results  are  obtained  by  placing  the 
materials  directly  upon  young  vigorously  growing  seedlings  in  “flats” 
after  wounding  them.  The  flats  were  then  well  watered  and  kept 
covered  with  paper  for  one  or  two  days,  keeping  the  plants  and  paper 
moist  in  the  meantime.  The  infested  materials  were  removed  from  the 
flats  three  or  four  days  after  the  inoculation  was  made.  Our  exper- 
iments have  led  us  to  question  any  conclusions  based  on  negative  re- 
sults from  inoculating  individual  plants  with  material  in  which  the 
causal  organism  is  not  abundant  and  is  in  a latent  state,  even  if  such 
plants  are  vigorous,  wounded  and  placed  under  good  environmental  con- 
ditions. Seedling  inoculations  in  the  greenhouse  in  which  at  least  100 
plants  are  involved  seems  the  most  reliable  test.  Inoculations  in  out- 
of-door  sections  of  seed  beds  are  not  apparently  as  reliable  on  account 
of  the  danger  of  dissemination  of  the  organism  from  section  to  section, 
and  less  certainty  in  the  control  of  the  environmental  conditions.  Prac- 
tically all  of  our  results  are  based  on  greenhouse  tests. 

The  first  series  of  experiments  were  started  in  the  midsummei  of 
1922,  for  the  purpose  of  comparing  the  survival  of  the  wildfire  organism 
on  or  in  seed,  soil,  cloth,  boards,  and  dried,  naturally  infected  leaves, 
cured  naturally  infected  leaves,  and  green  leaves  buried  about  4 inches 
in  the  soil,  without  direct  contact  with  the  soil  and  with  mixtures  of 
soil  in  proportions  of  1 to  5 and  1 to  10.  In  addition  the  watery  ex- 
tract from  green  leaves  and  the  pure  culture  suspension  used  for  in- 
festing the  seed,  soil,  etc.  was  saved  for  comparative  tests,  as  was  the 
dried  green  leaf  pulp  from  which  the  green  leaf  extract  was  made. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  to  present  the  data  from  inoculations 
made  with  these  infested  materials  in  condensed  form.  The  percentages 
of  infection  given  are  not  comparative  throughout  for  the  reason  that 
different  methods  of  inoculation  were  used  in  some  cases  and  because 
of  the  variable  conditions  for  infection  which  cannot  be  avoided.  It  is 
also  to  be  expected  that  the  dilution  of  the  suspension  of  organisms 
recovered  from  the  infested  materials  naturally  varies  greatly.  Within 
certain  limits,  however,  the  percentages  are  believed  significant  and  to 
these  attention  will  be  called.  The  principal  value  in  the  results,  how- 
ever, lies  in  the  outcome  as  to  whether  infection  was  or  was  not  ob- 
tained after  repeated  trials.  In  this  respect  the  results  are  believed  to 
be  significant  to  a high  degree.  Attention  has  already  been  called  to 
the  fact  that  the  number  of  organisms  involved  in  these  tests  are  prob- 
ably infinitely  greater  than  would  be  likely  to  occur  under  normal  con- 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco 


ditions,  so  that  the  small  amount  of  material  used  as  units  (10  grams, 
seed,  1 square  foot  of  cloth,  16  square  inches  of  boards,  etc.)  are  compara 
to  a much  larger  quantity  of  these  materials  under  practical  condit: 

From  Table  I it  seems  evident  that  the  wildfire  organism  c 
vive  but  a comparatively  short  period  in  liquids  exposed  t 
contamination,  and  that  its  limit  of  survival  on  such  materi 
soil  and  dried  green-leaf-plup,  cloth,  and  boards  is  only 
two  months,  under  the  conditions  of  this  experiment, 
hand,  on  tobacco  seed  and  on  dried  and  cured  leaves 
still  alive  after  nine  months. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  comparative  survi 
There  is  some  indication  that  seed  tends  to 
influence  on  the  wildfire  organism  and  that 
deleterious  action.  This  suggestion  is  bas 
behavior  in  the  two  cases  between  the 
and  the  green-leaf  inoculum.  In  subse 
relationships,  however,  we  failed  to 

A second  series  of  tests  with 
Series  I was  started  in  the  ear 
eously  throughout  the  fall  a 
respects  similar.  The  data 
II.  The  results  agree 
garding  overwintering 
pure-cultures  or  extr 
iective  powers,  w 
liquid  extract  f 
after  only  a 
tained  infec 
included  * 
were  n 
befor 


6 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


leaves  crushed  or  powdered.  These  were  applied  in  the  fall  of  1923 
V dipping  the  various  materials  into  a water  suspension  of  the  infected 
ie  after  which  they  were  rapidly  dried  and  stored  under  the  desired 
ions. 

previous  season’s  experience  indicated  that  the  most  reliable 
jld  be  obtained  by  direct  inoculation  to  flats  (about  22"xl4") 
everal  hundred  young  and  vigorously  growing  plants,  prac- 
lts  for  the  winter  of  1923-24  are  based  upon  this  method, 
the  experiment,  100  plants  were  pulled  at  random  from 
tal  number  of  lesions  on  these  counted.  Flats  showing 
.ounts  were  carefully  searched  for  any  single  lesion 
n most  cases  the  results  given  are  averages  of 

with  these  materials,  as  shown  in  Table  III, 
ganism  survived  most  successfully  on  dried 
soil,  or  on  dry  stalks ; apparently  not  so 
'Je  poorly  on  cloth  and  in  cured  leaves, 
’st  soil  and  rotting  leaves.  The  var- 
oubt  in  part  due  to  differences  in 
se,  although  effort  was  made  to 
some  quantitative  significance, 
e causal  organism  survives 
ider  similar  environmental 


at  the  organism  sur- 
temperatures  than 
Considerable  vari- 
he  condition  of 

that  dried 
ter  either 
such  as 
moist 
lort 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco 


7 


vational  and  experimental  evidence  is  offered  to  keep  the  matter  in 
doubt. 

The  experiments  here  have  repeatedly  indicated  that  the  wildfire  bac- 
teria cannot  survive  more  than  a month  in  ordinary  moist  loam  soil. 
Some  difference  may  exist  in  different  soils  in  this  respect,  but  over- 
wintering of  any  organisms  in  soil  is  very  doubtful  except  as  dry  in- 
fected leaf  tissue  is  lodged  in  dry  soil,  and  does  not  become  intimately 
associated  with  it  at  any  time  for  even  short  periods.  This  condition 
may  occur  in  tobacco  sheds  or  other  protected  places  where  the  soil 
remains  dry.  Table  V shows  how  well  the  bacteria  survive  in  air-dry 
soil  or  in  sterile  soil  whether  wet,  moist  or  dry,  as  compared  with  soil 
kept  moist,  or  remaining  moist  for  only  a sufficient  time  after  infesta- 
tion to  permit  drying.  The  readiness  with  which  the  wildfire  organ- 
ism overwinters  in  sterile  soil  or  dry  soil  as  compared  with  unsterilized 
moist  soil  seems  to  be  a good  basis  for  the  assumption  that  over- 
wintering is  largely  dependent  upon  competition  with  other  organisms 
as  already  has  been  suggested  by  Anderson  (2).  To  be  sure,  this  ex- 
planation seems  to  account  for  the  comparatively  rapid  deterioration 
of  the  wildfire  organism  in  contaminated  liquids,  rotting  leaves  and  in 
ordinary  moist  soil  as  compared  with  otherwise  sterile  or  dry  soil. 
On  the  other  hand,  when  comparing  the  persistence  of  the  organism  on 
seed  and  dried  or  cured  leaves  with  its  persistence  on  cloth  and  boards 
under  similar  moisture  conditions,  it  does  not  seem  to  satisfy  the  re- 
quirements wholly.  Although  this  whole  matter  requires  further  veri- 
fication, we  are  inclined  to  include  in  the  overwintering  requirements 
the  protective  action  of  certain  materials,  generally  host  tissue,  and 
perhaps  the  absence  of  injurious  substances  not  commonly  considered 
as  such.  On  the  other  hand,  as  will  be  shown  later,  the  wildfire  or- 
ganism may  deteriorate  more  rapidly  in  pure  culture  than  in  the  dor- 
mant condition  on  seed,  in  which  case  competing  organisms  do  not  ex- 
plain their  death  or  loss  of  pathogenicity. 

The  effectiveness  of  decay  in  destroying  the  wildfire  organism  is 
more  clearly  shown  in  Table  VI,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  conditions 
favorable  for  continued  decay  do  not  seem  to  be  required  for  ultimate 
destruction  of  the  parasite. 

Various  miscellaneous  experiments  have  been  conducted  with  over- 
wintering which  will  not  be  presented  in  detail  except  to  say  that 
thus  far  infection  has  been  obtained  from  air-dried  leaves  after  eighteen 
months,  from  cured  leaves  after  fifteen  months  and  from  artificially  in- 
fected seed  after  twenty  months,  although  in  some  cases  the  period 
of  longevity  of  the  organism  on  these  materials  has  apparently  been 
considerably  less. 

It  seemed  likely  to  us  that  if  other  plants  were  subject  to  infection  by 
the  wildfire  organism  these  might  also  prove  to  be  an  overwintering 
agent.  To  test  out  this  probability  a considerable  number  of  other 
plants  (common  garden  and  field  crops  and  common  weeds)  were  arti- 
ficially inoculated.  Most  plants  tried  were  found  to  be  subject  to  the 
disease  when  succulent  young  plants  were  inoculated  under  favorable 


8 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


environmental  conditions.  The  results  of  this  phase  of  the  work  have 
already  been  published  (10).  No  evidence,  however,  has  been  secured 
that  sufficient  infection  occurs  in  nature  on  other  hosts  than  tobacco 
to  warrant  the  belief  that  they  ever  play  a part  in  overwintering, 
nevertheless  it  seems  worth  while  for  investigators  of  this  disease  to  be 
on  the  look-out  for  evidence  of  such  cases. 

Dissemination  Studies 

The  question  of  dissemination  of  this  disease  involves  a considerable 
number  of  problems,  of  which  some  are  now  open  only  to  speculation 
while  others  are  apparently  more  likely  to  be  solved  by  observational 
than  by  experimental  data. 

The  problems  involved  are  in  some  respects  distinct,  since  they  in- 
volve long  distance  dispersal,  dispersal  to  adjoining  districts,  dispersal 
from  farm  to  farm,  spread  from  plant  to  plant  in  the  field,  and  in  the 
seed  bed,  as  well  as  the  original  source  of  infection  of  the  seed  bed. 
Wildfire  apparently  spread  from  North  Carolina  to  thirteen  widely  sep- 
arated tobacco  growing  states  east  of  the  Mississippi  River  in  five 
years.  At  present  there  can  be  speculation  only  as  to  the  agency  of 
dispersal,  since  many  might  conceivably  be  involved.  Although  pre- 
liminary experiments  indicate  that  active  fermentation  may  destroy  the 
causal  organism,  all  portions  of  the  tobacco  leaf  do  not  ferment  actively. 
Some  experiments  indicate,  for  instance,  that  dry  infected  leaves  could 
withstand  a temperature  of  100°  F.  for  five  days,  although  moist  cured 
leaves  could  carry  the  organism  only  one  to  two  days  at  this  temper- 
ature. It  seems  likely,  therefore,  that  commercial  tobaccos  of  certain 
kinds  may  be  a common  long  distance  dispersal  agent,  since  the  or- 
ganism may  quite  likely  survive  two  years  in  tobacco  leaf  tissue.  Dry 
wind  storms  may  readily  carry  infested  material  for  long  distances  and 
infected  seed  and  plants  may  be  involved  in  special  cases.  All  of  these, 
excepting  wind  dispersal,  seem  to  have  been  excluded  in  certain  cases 
of  epiphytotics  which  have  been  observed. 

The  spread  from  farm  to  farm  within  a given  area  is  still  a sub- 
ject of  speculation.  The  more  or  less  localization  of  the  disease  in 
districts,  as  in  Wisconsin  in  1922,  seems  to  indicate  local  spread  which 
cannot  be  attributed  to  infection  from  commercial  tobacco,  or  even  the 
use  of  home  grown  tobacco  by  the  workers  as  suggested  by  Valleau 
and  Hubbard  (13),  a practice  which  is  quite  uncommon  in  the  north. 
A careful  survey  definitely  excluded  dissemination  by  seed  or  plants  as 
a possibility  in  that  year.  Dissemination  of  infested  material  by  wind, 
especially  dry  wind,  within  the  district  seemed  the  most  logical  ex- 
plantation, although  in  isolated  cases  other  means  accounted  for  the  spread 
from  farm  to  farm. 

Spread  of  Wildfire  in  tke  Field. 

The  importance  of  rainstorms  with  wind  as  a dispersal  agent  in  the 
field  and  in  uncovered  or  cloth  covered  seed  beds  is  recognized  by  all 
workers  on  wildfire.  The  actual  distance  and  amount  of  dissemination 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco  9 

following  rainstorms  can  only  be  assumed,  however,  from  the  area  and 
number  of  new  infections  occurring,  which  are  brought  out  by  condi- 
tions favoring  infection.  The  causal  agent  may  have  been  spread  in 
many  cases  before  the  storm.  Unless  the  wind  is  especially  severe  it 
is  not  generally  believed  that  rain  storms  carry  the  disease  over  wide 
areas.  In  the  spring  of  1924,  some  seed  bed  experiments  were  laid  out 
to  test  this  subject  by  placing  flats  of  plants  with  bare  ground  be- 
tween them  at  varying  distances,  up  to  twenty  feet,  from  a central 
source  of  infection,  but,  unfortunately,  the  results  were  not  convincing 
owing  to  the  small  amount  of  infection  obtained. 

To  test  the  possibility  of  man  carrying  the  disease  about  in  any  one 
field  or  distributing  it  to  other  fields,  two  experiments  were  conducted, 
An  artificially  infected  pad  of  cloth  was  used  with  which  leaves  in  the 
field  were  brushed  sufficiently  to  break  the  plant-hairs  in  one  case  and 
touched  lightly  in  another  case.  Infection  occurred  in  both  cases,  but 
was  more  marked  in  the  former.  One  experiment  was  conducted  dur- 
ing a moist  period  of  weather  and  the  other  during  a dry  period.  The 
relative  results  were  apparently  the  same  in  both  cases. 

Where  wet  infected  cloth  was  applied  to  wet  leaves  the  best  infection 
was  secured,  although  good  infection  was  also  obtained  with  wet 
cloths  applied  on  dry  plants.  Some  infection  was  also  secured  from 
the  dry  infected  cloth  on  wet  plants,  when  the  contact  was  sufficient 
to  break  the  plant-hairs.  When  dry  cloth  was  used  on  dry  plants  no 
infection  resulted.  These  tests  seem  to  indicate  that  the  disease  may 
be  readily  spread  in  an  infected  field  by  man  brushing  against  the 
plants  when  the  leaves  or  the  clothes  or  both  are  wet,  but  not  when 
these  are  both  dry. 

An  important  question  relative  to  dissemination  relates  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  amount  of  infection  that  can  be  permitted  to  enter  the 
field  on  the  seedlings  when  transplanted,  and  the  extent  to  which  infection 
can  be  kept  down  by  the  removal  of  diseased  plants  or  diseased  leaves. 

On  June  28,  1923,  an  isolated  piece  of  ground  was  selected  and  di- 
vided into  eight  plots,  each  30  feet  by  36  feet.  One  hundred  and  twenty 
plants,  three  feet  apart  each  way,  were  set  in  each  plot.  These  plants 
were  selected  according  to  the  amount  of  disease  present  on  them,  the 
“badly  diseased”  ones  showing  lesions  on  all  the  leaves  and  the  “slightly 
diseased”  ones  showing  no  actual  lesions  at  all,  although  they  came  from 
a section  of  a seed  bed  which  had  been  inoculated  about  two  weeks 
earlier,  but  upon  which  no  infection  had  occurred,  owing  apparently  to 
unfavorable  conditions  for  infection.  The  “considerably  diseased” 
plants  showed  a few  lesions  on  the  lower  leaves.  The  different  lots 
were  pulled  and  transplanted  by  different  individuals  to  prevent  con- 
tamination in  handling.  The  season  was  unfavorable  for  wildfire,  and 
at  times  no  signs  of  the  disease  were  visible  in  the  field.  Following 
light  rains,  a slight  upward  spread  on  the  infected  plants  was  noted, 
but  no  general  spread  occurred  until  following  a short  rain  storm  with 
strong  wind  about  the  middle  of  September,  when  the  plants  were  full 
grown.  Following  this  a heavy  infection  developed.  On  September  25,  the 


10 


W isconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


number  of  leaves  infected  on  each  plant  was  estimated  by  two  different 
individuals.  The  average  infection  per  plant  is  shown  in  Table  VII. 
The  data  show  mainly  that  the  “slightly  diseased”  plants  eventually 
gave  almost  as  much  disease  as  the  “heavily  diseased”  plants.  The 
spread  of  the  disease  into  healthy  plots  was  evident,  more  to  the 
eastward  than  to  the  westward,  and  consequently  the  infection  in  Plot 
1 is  believed  to  be  due  largely  to  the  organisms  originally  present.  Sim- 
ilar plots  conducted  in  1924  corroborated  the  conclusions  from  the  pre- 
vious season. 

The  experience  with  the  careful  removal  of  diseased  leaves  at  short 
intervals  from  a small  center  of  infection  in  plots  in  1923  and  1924 
was  of  such  a nature  as  to  indicate  little  or  no  value  resulting  from 
this  practice  if  favorable  conditions  for  the  disease  develop  later  in 
the  season.  While  this  work  has  been  done  on  a large  scale  in  Wis- 
consin, in  the  control  work  in  1922  in  cooperation  with  the  State  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  the  subsequent  unfavorable  conditions  for  the 
development  of  the  disease  did  not  give  a true  measure  of  its  value. 

Under  favorable  weather  conditions  for  infection  and  consequently 
reproduction  of  the  parasite  and  for  its  dissemination,  a very  small 
percentage  of  disease  in  the  field  may  rapidly  develop  into  a large  one, 
which  may  subsequently  be  very  injurious  to  the  crop. 

Transplanting  of  even  a very  small  percentage  of  infected  plants  or 
of  only  slightly  diseased  plants  is,  therefore,  not  believed  to  be  war- 
ranted in  view  of  the  damage  which  may  result. 

It  should  be  stated,  however,  that  observational  evidence  on  a large 
number  of  farms  under  apparently  similar  weather  conditions  indicates 
that  there  is  no  close  correlation  between  the  amount  of  infection  in 
the  seed  bed,  or  the  original  infection  in  the  field,  and  that  subsequently 
occurring.  The  actual  condition  of  the  plants  themselves,  as  a result 
of  local  field  conditions,  seems  to  play  a large  role. 

Seed  Bed  Infestation. 

All  matters  considered,  the  transfer  of  infested  material  into  the 
seed  bed  is  the  most  important  problem  to  be  taken  into  consideration  in 
connection  with  the  control  of  wildfire.  It  has  been  shown  that  it  prac- 
tically can  be  taken  for  granted  that  overwintering  will  not  occur  in 
soil  lying  out-of-doors. 

It  has  been  shown  at  this  station  that  the  wildfire  organism  can  over- 
winter on  artificially  infested  seed,  and  that  artificially  infested  seed 
sown  in  seed  beds  may  result  in  infection  of  seedings  (Plate  2,  bottom) 
A number  of  trials  have  been  made  however,  in  which  infection  has  not 
been  secured  as  a result  of  sowing  infested  seed,  although  conditions 
apparently  ideal  for  infection  to  occur  have  been  maintained.  Although 
ir  is  not  generally  believed  that  seed  under  field  conditions  is  infested, 
experience  here  indicates  that  it  is  a factor  which  must  be  reckoned 
with.  It  is  a wise  precaution,  therefore,  not  to  save  seed  from  in- 
fected fields,  but  if  seed  must  be  taken  from  such  fields,  it  should  be 
thoroughly  disinfected  before  sowing.  The  subject  of  seed  disinfection 
is  discussed  on  page  14. 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco 


11 


Overwintering-  experiments  here  as  well  as  those  of  others,  have 
shown  that  the  wildfire  organism  readily  survives  the  winter  in  dry 
or  cured  infected  tobacco  leaves.  In  the  tobacco  shed  and  stripping 
rooms  a very  considerable  amount  of  refuse  containing  the  living 
causal  organism  must  exist  following  work  on  an  infected  crop.  Here, 
apparently,  lies  the  most  important  factor  for  seed  bed  infection.  The 
dissemination  of  this  material  to  the  seed  beds  may  occur  in  a number 
of  different  ways,  unless  precautions  are  taken  to  prevent  it.  The 
loose  refuse  should  be  burned  or  buried,  followed  by  the  precaution 
of  placing  the  seed  beds  at  a considerable  distance  from  the  tobacco 
shed.  The  use  of  lumber,  cloth,  or  any  other  material  on  the  beds 
which  has  been  stored  in  the  shed  should  also  be  guarded  against,  since 
this  involves  overwintering  not  necessarily  on  these  materials  them- 
selves but  on  pieces  of  infected  leaves  which  may  be  attached  to  these 
materials  and  carried  to  the  seed  bed. 

The  wildfire  survey  (Plate  VII)  in  Wisconsin  in  1923  brought  out  the 
following  interesting  observation  bearing  on  dissemination  from  sheds. 
Out  of  about  ninety  cases  in  1922,  60  growers  placed  their  seed  beds  near 
their  sheds  and  27  developed  wildfire  in  1923.  Twenty-three  growers 
placed  their  seedbeds  a considerable  distance  from  the  sheds,  and  only  one 
developed  wildfire  in  1923.  Out  of  nine  new  cases  of  wildfire  in  1923  seven 
developed  in  beds  placed  near  the  sheds.  This  evidence  seems  to  point 
towards  the  general  importance  of  dissemination  of  infected  material  from 
the  curing  sheds  to  the  seed  beds.  The  survey  in  1924  did  not  indicate  such 
close  correlation  between  location  of  beds  and  infection,  but  the  season  was 
unsual  in  many  respects  and  other  complicating  factors  may  have  played  a 
part  in  infection.  On  farms  where  wildfire  has  previously  occurred,  it  is 
an  excellent  precaution  to  keep  the  seed  beds  a considerable  distance 
from  the  building  which  may  harbor  the  parasite  in  order  that  wind, 
animals,  or  man  may  not  readily  transfer  even  small  bits  of  infected 
material  to  the  seed  beds.  Furthermore,  seed  bed  boards  or  frames,  cloth 
or  sash,  should  not  be  stored  in  sheds.  If  they  are  so  stored  or  have 
been  on  an  infected  bed  the  previous  season,  they  should  be  cleaned 
and  disinfected  if  again  used  for  seed  beds.  According  to  our  results, 
infested  lumber  piled  out  of  doors  in  such  a way  that  it  all  becomes 
wet  will  not  harbor  the  organism  from  season  to  season. 

Cloth  covers  are  not  likely  to  carry  infected  material  unless  stored 
under  infected  tobacco.  These  can  be  readily  sterilized  by  boiling  or 
steaming  when  desirable. 

Dusting  and  Spraying  Experiments 

In  the  Connecticut  Valley,  efforts  have  been  made  to  control  wildfire 
in  the  seed  beds  by  dusting  with  copper-lime  dust  and  spraying  with 

Bordeaux  mixture  (1,  3).  Their  experimental  results  in  the  green  house 
have  shown  very  marked  reduction  in  the  amount  of.  infection  on  seed- 
lings following  these  treatments,  and  a high  degree  of  benefit  was  like- 
wise obtained  undrr  out-of-door  seed  bed  conditions.  Neither  in  the 


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Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


green-house  nor  in  the  field  is  absolute  control  claimed,  however,  by 
these  investigators. 

Experiments  along  a similar  line  were  started  in  connection  with  our 
work  in  the  fall  of  1922  (8).  Most  of  the  work  has  been  carried  out 
in  the  green-house  with  seedlings  in  flats  (about  14  inches  x 22  inches) 
which  usually  contained  300  or  more  seedlings.  One  set  of  experi- 
ments was  also  conducted  in  3 foot  x 3 foot  seed  bed  areas  out  of 
doors. 

The  first  experiment  was  planned  to  show  the  difference  in  control 
obtained  in  wounded  as  compared  with  unwounded  plants,  inoculating 
artificially  before  and  after  dusting  or  spraying,  together  with  a rela- 
tive comparison  of  the  effectiveness  of  spraying  and  dusting  and  their 
frequencies  of  applications.  The  flats  were  inoculated  three  times  (in 
a few  cases  two  times)  with  a water  suspension  of  the  wildfire  or- 
ganism from  cultures.  The  data  secured  are  shown  in  Table  VIII. 
The  percentage  of  infection  obtained  is  relatively  high,  and  it  may  be 
objected  that  this  experiment  was  not  a fair  comparison  as  to  the 
value  of  dusting  and  spraying  on  account  of  the  number  of  inocula- 
tions and  the  amount  of  inoculum  used.  In  the  absence  of  any  method 
for  duplicating  natural  dissemination  only  the  inoculated  controls  can  be 
relied  upon  for  comparison.  While  these  indicate  infection  approxi- 
mately twice  as  great  as  that  of  the  sprayed  and  dusted  flats  they  were 
not  as  badly  diseased  as  may  be  frequently  noted  in  plant  beds  under 
conditions  of  natural  infection. 

Table  VIII  indicates  that  only  about  20  per  cent  more  of  the  plants 
were  infected,  and  only  about  two  to  four  more  infections  per  plant 
occurred  in  the  wounded  as  compared  with  the  unwounded  seedlings. 
(It  is  estimated  that  each  plant  received  on  the  average  ten  or  more 
wounds.)  In  both  the  wounded  and  unwounded  series,  plants  dusted 
or  sprayed  after  the  inoculation  showed  considerably  more  infection 
than  plants  dusted  or  sprayed  before  inoculation.  No  important  con- 
sistent difference  between  spraying  with  Bordeaux  and  dusting  could 
be  noted  in  this  experiment,  as  there  was  more  variation  between  the 
"brand”  of  dust  or  spray  used  than  between  the  methods  of  applica- 
tion. The  Bordeaux  paste  spray  used  from  appearance  was  apparently 
of  inferior  grade.  “Fungi-Bordo”  gave  better  results  than  "Nu-Rexo.” 
Increasing  the  number  of  applications  of  “Nu-Rexo”  reduced  the  per- 
centage of  plants  infected  and  the  number  of  infections  per  plant. 

A second  experiment  showed  that  corrosive  sublimate  sprayed  on  the 
plants  one-half  hour  before  inoculation  reduced  the  percentage  of 
plants  infected  from  96  to  49,  and  the  average  number  of  infections 
from  5.79  to  1.44.  Leaf  injury  was  produced  by  the  corrosive  subli- 
mate which  could  be  reduced,  however,  by  adding  lime  without  mater- 
ially influencing  its  effectiveness.  Following  this  trial  lime  alone  was 
tried  in  comparison  with  copper-lime  dust.  This  test  seemed  to  indi- 
cate that  lime  alone  was  as  effective  as  the  commercial  copper-lime  dust. 
An  experiment  was  then  conducted  in  out-of-door  seed  beds  in  the 
spring  of  1923,  running  duplicates  in  3 foot  x 3 foot  seed  bed  areas.  Air- 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco 


13 


f slaked  lime,  “Limate”,  “Niagara  D-6,”  “Nu-Rexo”,  “Corona  Bordeaux,” 
k “Sanders  Dust,”  “Fungi-Bordo,”  “Corona  Sulphur,”  Bordeaux  (4-4-50) 
spray  and  calicum  caseinate  (“Kayso”)  were  compared.  Six  applications 
of  the  chemicals  were  made,  two  being  applied  before  one  light  artificial 
inoculation  of  the  wildfire  organism  made  on  June  14.  On  July  11  an 
examination  of  the  beds  seemed  to  indicate  that  the  “Limate”  and  “Kay- 
i so”  plots  were  as  free  from  wildfire  as'  the  uninoculated  controls.  Slight 
infection  was  found  in  the  others  and  considerable  infection  in  the  in- 
oculated controls.  “Niagara  D-6”  and  “Sanders  Dust”  gave  some  leaf 
injury  but  not  enough  to  seriously  affect  the  plants. 

On  October  13,  1923,  young  seedlings  in  flats  were  dusted  with 
“Kayso”  and  Limate”  in  comparison  with  “Sanders  Dust”,  “Fungi-Bor- 
do”, and  dry  soil.  The  percentage  of  plants'  showing  infection  are  shown 
in  Table  IX.  “Kayso”  alone  apparently  gave  the  best  results,  due  probably 
in  part  to  its  adhesiveness.  “Limate”  was  approximately  as  good  as  the 
copper-lime  dusts.  Soil  dust  for  some  reason  increased  infection  above 
that  of  the  inoculated  controls. 

These  results  with  spraying  and  dusting  are  believed  to  have  some 
bearing  upon  the  theory  and  practice  of  this  method  of  control  for 
wildfire,  although  corroboration  of  the  results  and  conclusions  may 
be  necessary  to  bear  them  out.  Copper,  the  toxic  constituent  in  Bor- 
deaux spray  and  copper-lime  dusts,  has  never  been  regarded  as  a good 
germicide  and  its  use  as  al,  spray  to  prevent  bacterial  infection  is  quite 
unusual  in  the  history  of  plant  disease  control,  although  its  value  in 
preventing  fungus  invasion  is  universally  recognized.  The  experiments 
indicate  further  that  copper  is  not  the  effective,  agent  in  the  case  of 
wildfire  control.  It  seems  more  likely  that  the  effectiveness  of  spraying 
and  dusting  is  due  in  part  at  least  to  its  physical  rather  than  to  its 
chemical  action.  While  “Limate”  or  “Kayso”  is  not  recommended  for 
the  practical  control  of  wildfire,  yet  the  latter  could  probably  be  used 
to  advantage  on  account  of  its  adhesiveness.  Spraying  and  dusting, 
with  any  material  used  in  our  tests  however,  do  apparently  not  pre- 
vent the  occurrence  of  more  or  less  wildfire  in  the  seed  beds  when 
conditions  favorable  to  the  dissemination  and  development  of  the 
causal  organism  occur.  The  experiments  on  dissemination  have  shown 
that  a very  slight  amount  of  seed  bed  infection,  in  fact  an  infection  so 
small  as  to  be  undeterminable  at  the  time  of  planting,  may  result  in 
heavy  field  infection,  providing  conditions  favorable  for  the  dissemina- 
tion and  development  of  the  disease  occur  in  the  field. 

If,  therefore,  spraying  and  dusting  do  not  wholly  control  the  dis- 
ease, the  question  may  be  raised  as  to  the  actual  value  of  this  practice. 
If  wildfire  becomes  annually  a common  and  serious  seed  bed  trouble 
in  any  given  district,  spraying  and  dusting,  or  some  better  method  of 
control,  may  need  to  be  resorted  to.  Under  conditions  where  only  a 
low  percentage  of  the  seed  beds  are  infested  in  a district,  it  will 
probably  be  safer  in  the  long  run  for  the  grower  to  discard  infested 
seed  beds  entirely  in  preference  to  taking  the  risk  of  placing  even  a 
slight  amount  of  infection  in  the  field,  such  as  may  occur  in  infested 


14 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


sprayed  or  dusted  beds.  The  actual  value  of  this  practice  however, 
must  finally  be  determined  largely  by  the  results  which  the  growers 
obtain  from  its  use  rather  than  from  experimental  trials  of  the  kinds 
described. 


Seed  Disinfection 

It  was  pointed  out  earlier  that  while  seed  was  not  apparently  a com- 
mon source  of  wildfire  infection,  it  is  regarded  as  an  unsafe  practice  to 
sow  seed  grown  one  or  two  years  previously  in  an  infected  field  with- 
out thorough  disinfection.  Formaldehyde  solution  (1-16)  was  first 
used  for  seed  disinfection  against  wildfire.  Earlier  experience  here 
with  this  disinfectant  indicated  that  it  was  injurious  to  germination  in 
some  cases  and  this  observation  has  also  been  reported  from  other 
stations,  particularly  from  Virginia.  Corrosive  sublimate  (1-1000) 
treatment  was  recommended  as  a substitute  by  Fromme  and  Wingard 
(6),  their  experiments  having  shown  that  no  injury  to  germination  of 
the  seed  occurred  under  their  conditions.  This  treatment  was  recom- 
mended and  used  soon  after  in  the  northern  sections  where  wildfire 
was  on  the  increase.  Experience  here  with  the  corrosive  sublimate 
treatment  like  that  of  others  (I,  II)  proved  disastrous,  for  the  reason 
that  while  the  treated  seed  germinated  in  subsequent  seed  germination 
tests  on  filter  paper,  (Plate  3,  bottom)  it  almost  universally  failed  to  germ- 
inate for  the  farmers.  The  injurious  action  of  the  corrosive  sublimate  : 
treatment  (Plate  3,  top)  was  found  to  occur  only  when  the  seed  ' 
was  sprouted  before  sowing  (either  as'  mixed  with  rotten  wood  or  as 
pure  seed)  as  is  a common  practice  in  northern  tobacco-growing  dis-  . 
tr icts.  When  sown  directly  in  soil,  the  treated  seed  sprouts  normally ; : 
and  this  method  of  sowing  is  the  common  practice  in  Virginia  and  other 
southern  districts.  Corrosive  sublimate  treated  seed  also  practically 
fails  to  germinate  on  potato  agar.  The  failure  of  corrosive  sublimate 
treated  seed  to  germinate  is  believed  to  be  due  to  the  toxic  action  of  the 
corrosive  sublimate  absorbed  and  retained  by  the  seed,  which  in  contact  ; 
with  filter  paper  or  soil  passes  from  the  seed,  but  in  contact  with  other 
seeds,  in  decayed  wood  or  on  agar,  is  not  absorbed  from  the  seed.  We 
cannot  agree  with  Anderson  and  Chapman’s  (1)  explanation  of  hardening  , 
of  the  seed  coat  in  this  respect  nor  that  treatment  with  water  alone  may  i 
result  in  a similar  injur}%  although  there  have  been  cases  where  seed 
treated  with  water  alone  and  lying  in  cloth  bags  in  contact  with  other 
bags,  treated  with  corrosive  sublimate,  fail  to  germinate,  apparently 
due  to  the  diffusion  of  the  toxic  property  from  one  bulk  to  the  other.  , 

Experiments  were  accordingly  started  with  the  purpose  of  finding 
some  satisfactory  method  of  disinfecting  tobacco  seed  for  tobacco 
districts  where  seed  is  normally  sprouted  before  sowing.  A large 
number  of  tests  on  modifications  of  the  corrosive  sublimate  and  form- 
alin treatments  were  first  tried.  Later  calcium  hypochlorite,  “Bacilli-KiT 
(B.  K.),  cupra-ammonium  carbonate,  electrically  generated  ozone  (with 
possibly  nitrous  oxide),  heat  in  vacuo,  Seed-o-San,  Semesan,  Uspulun. 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco 


15 


Bayer’s  Compound  and  other  commercial  compounds,  and  silver  nitrate 
were  tried.  Following  these  treatments  the  rate  and  percentage  of 
germination  of  seeds  on  filter  paper  and  in  bulk  were  determined,  as 
well  as  the  disinfection  secured  by  sowing  the  treated  seed  on  potato- 
dextrose  agar;  plates.  The  data  on  this  subject  are  too  voluminous  to 
present  in  detail  here  so  the  principal  results  only  are  given. 

Seed  stored  moist  for  as  long  as  forty-eight  hours,  /and  then  dried, 
showed  no  injurious  effect  on  germination  either  on  filter  paper  or  in 
“bulk”.  Seed  treated  with  corrosive  sublimate,  kept  moist  for  eight 
hours  or  longer  after  treatment,  retarded  germination  on  filter  paper 
markedly,  and  no  germination  occurred  in  bulk.  Corrosive  sublimate 
treatment  at  various  temperatures  from  0°  C.  to  30° C.  did  not  appre- 
ciably influence  the  usual  result  (i.  e.  germination  on  filter  paper  but  no 
germination  in  bulk).  Two  to  eight  washings  after  treatment  with  the 
sublimate  did  not  measurably  alter  its  normal  behavior.  Poor  drying 
after  treatment  retarded  germination  only  slightly  as  compared  with 
moderate  to  good  drying.  Soaking  seed  in  water  up  to  two  hours 
before  treatment  with  the  sublimate  had  no  influence  on  the  result. 
A twenty  minute  treatment  with  corrosive  sublimate,  1 to  1000,  re- 
tarded germination  appreciably  on  filter  paper,  as  compared  with  shorter 
treatments.  Five,  ten  and  fifteen  minute  treatments  with  corrosive 
sublimate,  1-1000  ,gave  good  but  not  perfect  disinfection  of  seed  so  far 
as  wildfire  was  concerned,  but  did  not  permit  germination  in  bulk. 
Corrosive  sublimate  (1-500)  for  fifteen  minutes  retarded  germination 
somewhat  more  on  filter  paper  than  did  the  standard  treatment.  Cor- 
rosive sublimate  (1-2000)  was  not  effective  as  a disinfecting  agent. 

Soaking  seed  in  water  after  treatment  with  corrosive  sublimate  up 
to  thirty  hours  did  not  favor  its  germination  on  filter  paper  or  in  bulk 
but  rather  added  to  the  injurious  action  secured. 

These,  or  other  modifications  of  the  corrosive  sublimate  treatment 
which  have  been  tried,  including  those  recommended  by  Anderson  and 
Chapman  (I),  do  not  permit  the  germination  of  the  seed  in  bulk,  or  in 
decaying  wood  with  anything  like  sufficient  certainty  to  warrant  its 
recommendation  in  districts  where  sprouting  before  sowing  is  prac- 
ticed. 

The  formaldehyde  treatments  did  not  prove  particularly  injurious  to 
the  particular  lots  of  seed  used  in  these  experiments,  either  on  filter 
paper  or  in  bulk  up  to  about  2 per  cent  formaldehyde  with  15  minute 
treatments.  The  objections  to  the  formaldehyde  treatment  lie  primarily 
in  the  fact  that  its  disinfecting  properties  are  not  so  reliable  as  cor- 
rosive sublimate  up  to  strengths  which  are  not  likely  to  be  injurious  to 
the  germination  of  some  lots  of  seeds.  Our  experience  and  that  of 
others  also  has  been  that  formaldehyde  (5)  is  much  more  injurious  to 
some  lots  of  seed  than  to  others  for  reasons  not  fully  understood,  and 
it  is,  therefore,  not  regarded  as  a promising  tobacco  seed  disinfectant. 

Calcium  hypochlorite  (about  2 per  cent  Cl.  water)  retarded  germin- 
ation about  10  per  cent  only  in  treatments  from  two  to  twenty-four 
hours,  but  the  seed  was  markedly  bleached. 


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‘Bacilli-Kil”  (B.  K.),  about  3.38  per  cent  NaClo  up  to  four  hours, 
followed  by  washing,  did  not  injure  seed  appreciably,  but  seed  was 
bleached  and  it  was  not  effective  as  a seed  disinfectant  in  treatments 
of  less  than  four  hours  duration. 

Cupra-ammonium  carbonate  (spray  formula)  did  not  injure  seed  ger- 
mination up  to  1 hour  treatment,  but  it  did  not  give  sufficient  disin- 
fecting action  to  warrant  further  trials.  Five  hours  treatment  killed 
seed  but  did  not  satisfactorily  disinfect  it. 

Ozone  (with  perhaps  nitrous  oxide)  generated  electrically  did  not 
injure  dry  seed  up  to  eight  hours,  but  wet  seed  was  killed  in  about 
four  hours.  Neither  treatment  was  sufficiently  effective  as  a disin- 
fecting agent  in  our  tests. 

Heat  treatments,  even  under  reduced  pressure,  did  not  give  satis- 
factory disinfection  up  to  temperatures  that  killed  the  seed  in  these 
limited  trials. 

A number  of  commercial  seed  disinfectants,  mostly  of  the  organic 
mercury  compounds,  have  been  tested  both  as  dust  and  liquid  treat- 
ments. These  have  included  principally  Seed-o-San,  Dupont  Semesan, 
Dupont  Dust  Disinfectant  No.  12,  Bayer’s  Dust,  Bayer’s  Compound  and 
Uspulun.  None  of  these  met  all  the  requirements  for  disinfection  of 
tobacco  seed.  The  dust  treatments  as  a rule  do  not  permit  germin- 
ation in  bulk,  and  the  liquid  treatments  retard  the  germination  in  bulk 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  them  unsafe  to  recommend  in  practice. 
The  disinfecting  value  of  these  compounds  against  the  wildfire  organism 
on  tobacco  seed  proved  in  all  cases  to  be  so  low  at  any  of  the  strengths 
recommended  (and  in  some  cases  with  increased  concentrations  and 
long  treatments)  that  they  cannot  be  recommended  for  this  purpose. 

In  the  first  experiments  with  silver  nitrate  as  a disinfecting  agent  for 
tobacco  seed  a solution  (about  .33  per  cent)  was  used  in  treatments 

varying  from  two  to  thirty  minutes.  Germination  was  not  appreciably- 
injured  either  when  tested  on  filter  paper  or  in  bulk,  and  good  disin- 
fection was  secured  in  all  cases.  In  a second  preliminary  test  silver 
nitrate  was  used  in  strengths  varying  from  0.1  per  cent  up  to  0.8  per 
cent  for  fifteen  minutes  and  again  germination  was  not  injured  appre- 
ciably even  at  the  higher  strength,  and  excellent  disinfection  was  se- 
cured at  all  concentrations.  A number  of  trials  subsequently  made  with 
silver  nitrate  indicated  that  it  is  the  least  harmful,  of  any  disinfecting 
agent  tried  on  tobacco  seed,  and  that  its  disinfecting  properties  are 
as  good  if  not  better  than  that  of  corrosive  sublimate  (Plate  IV).  Ac- 
cordingly^, it  was  suggested  that  silver  nitrate  1-1000  treating  for  15 
minutes  be  substituted  for  corrosive  sublimate  treatment  of  tobacco 
seed,  especially  in  districts  where  seed  is  commonly  sprouted  before 
sowing. 

During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1924,  a decided  outbreak  of  wild- 
fire occurred  in  Wisconsin,  owing  to  very  favorable  weather  conditions 
for  its  occurrence.  In  a few  cases  seed  was  suspected  of  being  the 
agency  of  introduction  into  the  seed  bed,  although  the  seed  had  been 
treated  with  silver  nitrate.  This  led  to  further  investigations  on  the 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco 


17 


subject  of  seed  sterilization,  comparing  particularly  silver  nitrate  and 
corrosive  sublimate  treatments.  For  this  purpose  seed  heavily  inoculated 
by  artificial  means  was  used,  which  following  treatment  was  plated 
out  on  potato  agar,  often  using  as  many  as  forty  dishes  with  around 
two  hundred  seeds  included  in  each  dish  as  a test  for  each  treatment. 
As  a result  of  these  tests  it  appeared  that  occasionally  a wildfire  or- 
ganism escaped  the  recommended  treatments,  sometimes  one  in  five 
or  ten  thousand  seeds.  ‘The  results  again  indicated  that  silver  nitrate 
was  somewhat  more  effective  than  corrosive  sublimate  as  a disinfecting 
agent.  It  was  also  especially  noticeable  that  the  former  was  much  more 
effective  against  fungus  saprohytes  than  the  latter. 

In  this  connection,  it  must  be  remembered  however,  that  the  seeds 
used  in  these  experiments  were  infested  with  at  least  a hundred  and 
probably  with  a thousand  times  more  of  the  wildfire  bacteria  than 
commonly  occur  on  seed  under  natural  conditions,  so  that  it  is  doubtful 
if  more  than  one  seed  in  several  hundred  thousand  escapes  disinfection 
in  practice.  Since  there  are,  however,  three  to  four  hundred  thousand 
seeds  in  an  ounce,  the  possibility  remains  that  occasionally  wildfire  may 
escape  the  present  methods  of  seed  disinfection. 

In  order  to  reduce  this  possibility  to  a minimum  or  eliminate  it  en- 
tirely, a double  seed  treatment  with  silver  nitrate  was  resorted  to, 
permitting  the  seed  to  dry  one  or  more  days  between  treatments.  At 
the  same  time  the  length  of  the  treatment  has  been  reduced  since 
early  experiments  showed  that  even  a two  minute  treatment  with  silver 
nitrate  was  very  effective.  With  the  double  treatment,  each  treatment 
lasting  ten  or  even  five  minutes,  it  has  been  possible  to  disinfect  the 
seed  so  completely  that  no  wildfire  organism  has  been  recovered  from 
seed  so  treated  after  extensive  trial.  Therefore,  it  seems  that  the 
double  treatment  should  be  used  in  preference  to  the  single  treatment 
in  cases  where  the  most  reliable  disinfection  is  required. 

The  germination  of  the  seed  is  apparently  more  retarded  by  two 
treatments  than  where  only  a single  treatment  is  given,  but  this  has 
not  been  found  to  be  of  more  than  one  or  two  days  duration  and,  con- 
sequently, is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a serious  objection.  The  advantage 
of  two  five-minute  treatments  lies  largely  in  the  fact  that  germination 
is  retarded  somewhat  less  than  with  two  ten-minute  treatments.  It  has 
also  been  noted  here  that  it  is  not  advisable  to  sprout  the  seed  in  the 
same  cloth  in  which  it  was  treated. 

Loss  of  Virulence 

The  experience  of  most  workers  with  the  wildfire  organism  has  been 
that  it  may  relatively  rapidly  lose  much  or  all  of  its  virulence  in  culture. 
This  phenomenon  is  common  with  many  bacterial  parasites  and  is  said 
to  occur  in  nature  also. 

A simple  though  fairly  extensive  experiment  was  conducted  with 
8.  tabacum  for  the  purpose  of  determining  in  the  first  place  the  best 


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Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


cultural  method  for  this  organism  in  order  to  retain  its  virulence,  and 
secondly  to  form  a possible  basis  of  reasoning  in  regard  to  overwinter- 
ing of  the  organism. 

Three  virulent  strains  (isolated  from  different  sources)  were  selected 
and  transferred  to  three  different  media,  potato-dextrose  agar,  beef- 
peptone  agar  and  bouillon.  These  media  were  made  up  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  last  throughout  the  experiment  and  sealed  in  tubes  with 
paraffin.  In  all,  about  650  cultures  were  involved.  Several  original 
transfers  were  kept,  and  transfers  were  then  made  serially  weekly  and 
monthly,  fifty-two  weekly  and  thirteen  monthly  transfers  being  made 
in  the  experiment.  The  cultures  were  kept  in  the  refrigerator  at  about 
8-10°  C.  throughout  the  experiment.  At  intervals  of  about  one  month 
the  non-transfers  and  the  last  weekly  and  monthly  cultures  were  tested 
for  their  virulence  by  making  50  wound  inoculations  with  a water  sus- 
pension from  each  culture  on  the  leaves  of  young  tobacco  plants  in  pots 
supplying  suitable  conditions  for  infection.  The  results  are  recorded 
as  percentages  of  infection.  Considerable  difference  occurred  in 
the  rate  of  infection  and  the  size  and  appearance  of  the  lesions,  but 
these  cannot  be  gone  into  detail  here.  The  results  on  the  percentage 
basis  were  on  the  whole  quite  variable  when  compared  from  month  to 
month,  due  undoubtedly  to  variation  in  environmental  conditions  af- 
fecting infection.  Studied  in  detail,  the  results  also  show  occasional 
contradiction,  i.  e.,  a culture  would  at  one  time  give  a higher,  and  at 
another  time  a lower  percentage  of  infection  when  compared  to  an- 
other. Taken  as  a whole,  however,  the  following  conclusions  seem 
warranted  from  the  data. 

The  degree  of  virulence  showed  a general  downward  tendency  on  all 
media  with  increasing  age,  most  marked  on  beef-peptone  agar  and 
least  marked  on  potato  dextrose  agar  (Plate  V).  In  the  case  of  potato 
agar  the  greatest  loss  of  virulence  occurred  when  no  transfers  were 
made  (Table  10)  and  the  least  when  weekly  transfers  were  made.  In 
the  case  of  beef-peptone  agar  the  greatest  loss  of  virulence  occurred  in 
the  weekly  transferred  series  and  the  least  in  the  no-transfer  series. 
At  the  end  of  15  months  the  loss  of  virulence  was  complete  on  beef- 
peptone  agar  in  all  three  strains  used. 

In  bouillon  not  much  effect  of  the  transplanting  itself  was  noted,  the 
evidence  being  somewhat  in  favor  of  monthly  or  weekly  transplants 
above  no  transplanting  as  regards  retention  of  virulence. 

Some  difference  existed  in  the  three  strains  used  in  regards  to  their 
ability  to  retain  their  virulence  under  any  one  condition,  strain  3,  for 
instance,  was  over  twice  as  virulent  as  strain  2 on  untransferred  beef- 
peptone  agar.  When  transferred  back  into  potato-agar,  the  cultures  in 
all  cases  seemed  to  be  approximately  equal  in  vigor  of  growth,  but 
virulence  was  not  materially  altered. 

None  of  the  cultures,  as  a rule,  gave  as  high  percentage  or  as  good 
infection  as  freshly  isolated  cultures  from  new  lesions.  Aside  from 
this  the  best  culture  medium  for  B.  tabacum  seems  to  be  potato-dextrose 
agar,  with  transfers  at  intervals  of  somewhat  less  than  one 


Plate  I 

Top — Typical  symptoms  of  wildfire  on  portion  of  tobacco  leaf.  The  chlorotic 
area  or  “halo”  surrounding  a whitish  or  brownish  central  necrotic  area  is 
characteristic  of  this  disease. 

Bottom — Wildfire  infection  in  a seed  bed  often  kills  young  plants. 


Plate  II 

Top — barly  and  Late  symptoms  of  blackflrc  of  tobacco.  This  disease  differs 
quite  strikingly  from  wildfire  and  is  due  to  a different  bacterium.  The  control 
methods,  however,  are  much  the  same  so  far  as  known  so  that  it  is  believed 
the  recommendations  presented  in  this  bulletin  for  wildfire  control  apply  to 
blackfire  also. 

Bottom-  Wildfire  may  overwinter  on  the  seed.  (A)  Control  plot  sown 
with  uninfested  seed.  ( B)  Wildfire  resulting  from  sowing  artificially  infested 
seed. 


Plate  HI 

Top — Corrosive  sublimate  prevents  sprouting  of  seed  in  bulk.  Silver  nitrate 
treatment  does  not  prevent  sprouting  by  this  method. 

Bottom — The  germination  of  tobacco  seed  after  different  treatments  using  the 
ordinary  method  for  testing  the  seed. 

(Note  that  corrosive  sublimate  does  not  prevent  germination  by  this  method, 
nor  does  it  prevent  germination  when  seed  is  sown  dry  in  the  soil. 

C. — Control  no  treatment. 

S.N. — Disinfected  with  silver  nitrate. 

C.S. — Disinfected  with  corrosive  sublimate. 

E. — Disinfected  with  formalin. 


Plate  V 

Illustrating  the  comparative  loss  of  virulence  of  the  wildfire  organism 
grown  in  pure  cultures  for  one  year  on  different  media  and  with  different 
frequencies  of  transfers. 

A— Potato-dextrose  agar.  1 — Transferred  weekly. 

B — Bouillon  2 — Transferred  monthly. 

C — Beef  peptone  agar.  3 — Xo  transfer. 


Plate  VI 

Wildfire  symptoms  produced  by  toxin  only. 

A. — Leaf  inoculated  with  a sterile  filtrate  from  wildfire  cultures.  Dish 
above  shows  results  of  plating  out  from  such  spots. 

B — Inoculated  with  bacteria  and  toxin  from  wildfire  culture.  Dish  above 
shows  organisms  present  on  plating  out.  Inoculation  with  bacteria  alone  re- 
quires longer  to  produce  symptoms. 


EAST  HALF  OF  DANE  COUNTY 


Plate  VII 

Spread  of  tobacco  wildfire  in  Dane  County,  Wisconsin.  The  cases  of  in- 
fection on  farms  in  1922,  1923,  and  1924  are  shown.  It  will  be  noted  that 
on  some  farms  the  disease  re-occurred  three  years  in  succession  while  on  other 
farms  no  infection  occurred  after  1922.  A marked  spread  of  the  disease  can 
be  noted  in  1924.  The  survey  was  made  in  detail  in  only  the  townships  of 
Burke  and  Sun  Prairie  in  1921.  The  survey  from  which  this  map  was  made 
was  supported  by  the  Wisconsin  State  Department  of  Agriculture. 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco 


19 


month.  The  wildfire  organism  may  lose  all  or  part  of  its  virulence 
under  relatively  favorable  conditions  for  the  growth  and  storage  of 
the  organism.  The  fact  that  it  has  favorable  conditions  for  multiplica- 
tion outside  of  the  host  is  not  necessarily  conducive  to  continued  patho- 
genicity. That  the  organism  can  and  does  retain  life  and  pathogenicity 
upon  such  materials  as  seed  or  leaves  in  the  dry  and  latent  state  is  evi- 
dent from  the  overwintering  tests.  Under  other  conditions,  whether 
the  material  which  harbors  it  is  dry  or  sufficiently  moist  to  favor 
growth,  it  may  rapidly  die  out  or  lose  its  virulence  as  evidenced  by  the 
results  with  soil,  cloth  and  wood.  It  seems  evident,  however,  that 
whether  the  wildfire  organism  is  in  all  cases  really  killed  or  merely  loses 
its  virulence  has  not  been  actually  determined  in  overwintering  ex- 
periments conducted  thus  far.  Studies  along  this  line  may  explain  some 
of  the  peculiar  cases  of  behavior  in  overwintering  studies. 


The  Wildfire  Toxin 

The  common  and  characteristic  halo  surrounding  the  ordinary  wild- 
fire lesion,  the  less  common  chlorosis  of  bud  leaves  which  sometimes 
occurs,  with  few,  if  any,  organisms  in  the  chlorotic  area  is  evidence 
that  a toxic  substance  is  produced  by  the  wildfire  organism  which  is 
apparently  soluble. 

To  obtain  further  information  on  this  point,  cultures  of  the  wildfire 
organism  on  potato  agar  were  suspended  in  water  and  filtered  through 
a small  Berkfeld  filter.  The  filtrate  proved  sterile  on  plating  and  was 
used  for  inoculations  on  tobacco  in  the  ordinary  way.  Typical  halos 
were  produced  by  the  sterile  filtrate  in  one  to  two  days.  Platings  from 
these  spots  showed  that  they  were  sterile  (Plate  VI).  These  tests,  with 
other  modifications,  were  repeated  five  times  with  similar  results.  The 
wildfire  organism  produces  toxin  which,  though  greatly  diluted,  is 
very  effective  in  rapidly  producing  chlorosis  in  plants.  The  wildfire 
bacteria  when  washed  free  of  this  toxin  required  several  days  longer  to 
produce  typical  lesions  than  did  the  toxin  alone.  This  observation  is 
of  considerable  significance  in  work  with  the  wildfire  organism  and  led 
us  to  reconsider  some  of  the  previous  experimental  work  here  as  well 
as  that  of  others,  and  explained  some  observations  previously  not  un- 
derstood. It  was  always  noted,  for  instance,  that  the  wildfire  organism 
required  several  days  to  produce  any  signs  of  infection  from  some  of 
the  overwintered  materials,  whereas  24-48  hours  sufficed  for  cultures. 
It  is  evident  that  the  presence  or  absence  of  already  formed  toxin  had 
much  to  do  with  this  result. 

Most  of  the  determinations  on  overwintering  and  influence  of  other 
environmental  conditions  on  the  pathogenicity  of  the  wildfire  organism 
have  been  based  on  inoculations  of  living  plants.  It  is  possible,  there- 
fore, that  these  results  apply  more  particularly  in  some  cases  to  the 
effect  of  the  toxin  than  on  the  organism  itself.  Anderson,  for  instance, 
found  that  alternate  freezing  and  thawing  did  not  kill  the  wildfire  or- 
ganism, since  inoculations  with  the  exposed  cultures  produced  typical 


20 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


infection.  In  experiments  here,  cultures  exposed  to  alternate  freezing 
and  thawing  for  short  periods  also  gave  infection,  but  these  same  cul- 
tures failed  to  give  growth  on  other  media  when  transfers  were  made 
from  them  some  time  after  the  exposure.  It  seems  evident  that  the  or- 
ganism was  largely,  if  not  wholly,  destroyed,  but  that  the  toxin  was  not 
injured. 

The  loss  of  virulence  or  pathogenicity,  as  noted  in  the  previous  chap- 
ter, is  no  doubt  related  at  least  in  part  to  a tendency  of  the  organism 
to  continue  to  produce  toxin  in  culture.  Apparently  the  observation 
that  old  cultures  readily  produce  symptoms  on  plants,  as  compared 
with  subsequent  transplants,  is  not  the  result  of  any  greater  virulence 
of  the  parasite,  but  is  rather  a consequence  of  the  transplanting  of  the 
toxin  previously  produced. 

Similarly,  the  question  may  be  raised  as  to  whether  the  symptoms 
produced  on  a plant,  as  a result  of  introducing  the  toxin  through  a 
wound,  justify  including  the  plant  in  the  host  range  of  the  parasite. 
In  work  with  the  host  plants  of  B.  tabacum  (10)  no  distinction  was  made 
as  between  the  toxin  and  the  organism,  in  all  cases  probably  inoculating 
with  both.  Some  of  these  trials  have  been  repeated  sufficiently,  how- 
ever, to  justify  the  belief  that  in  most  cases,  at  least,  the  organism  was 
actually  parasitic,  although  the  initial  symptoms  may  have  been  pro- 
duced by  the  toxin  introduced  from  cultures.  The  records  show,  how- 
ever, that  in  practically  all  cases  infection  was  obtained  by  spraying 
the  inoculum  on  unwounded  plants,  as  well  as  by  wound  inoculations. 

Practical  Considerations 

With  the  appearance  of  a new  disease  of  economic  importance,  the 
quick  demand  for  control  measures  often  requires  the  dissemination  of 
such  information  as  may  be  rapidly  gained  from  limited  experimental 
data,  together  with  deductions  from  what  is  known  about  similar  dis- 
eases. When  the  problem  is  subsequently  more  thoroughly  investigated, 
it  is  natural  that  the  relative  importance  of  the  earlier  recommendations 
will  be  altered,  possibly  some  eliminated  and  others  added.  This  es- 
sentially has  been  the  history  of  the  development  of  wildfire  control 
measures.  Control  measures  can  best  be  applied  by  adequately  under- 
standing a disease  and  selecting  and  using  control  measures  that  apply 
best  to  the  case  at  hand,  rather  than  by  blindly  following  directions. 

The  results  secured  from  the  investigations  described  in  this  bulletin 
do  not  fundamentally  change  the  principles  of  control  which  have  been 
previously  recommended  by  this  Station  and  by  workers  in  other  states. 
They  corroborate  previous  results  based  on  meager  data,  justify  or 
eliminate  certain  recommendations  which  were  in  doubt,  in  addition 
to  altering  some  of  the  methods. 

The  fundamental  consideration  which  should  be  kept  in  mind  in 
controlling  the  wildfire  disease  is  that  it  is  of  an  infectious  nature  and 
that  measures  for  its  control  are,  therefore,  based  largely*  on  efforts  to 
prevent  its  introduction  in  the  first  place  into  the  seed  beds,  and  failing 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco 


21 


in  this  the  necessary  precautions  should  be  taken  to  prevent  its  intro- 
duction into  the  field. 

When  wildfire  has  occurred  on  a farm  in  the  preceding  season,  it  is 
evident  from  our  experiments  that  any  material  which  may  harbor  even 
extremely  small  pieces  of  infected  plant  tissue  may  be  a possible 
source  of  infection  to  the  new  plant  beds  if  permitted  to  reach  them, 
and  favorable  weather  conditions  for  the  infection  follow.  It  is  believed, 
however,  that  the  actual  dissemination  of  infected  material  from  the 
curing  sheds,  where  the  material  has  remained  dry,  to  the  seed  beds 
is  one  of  the  most  common  sources  of  infection.  Seed  bed  frames  or 
covering,  or  any  other  material  coming  in  contact  with  the  seed  beds 
should  not  be  stored  in  the  curing  sheds,  where  infested  tobacco  hangs, 
without  being  thoroughly  cleaned  and  disinfected  before  using.  It 
is  not  believed  that  wood  or  cloth  readily  harbors  the  wildfire  organism 
except  as  it  carries  pieces  of  infected  leaf  tissue.  To  further  insure 
sanitary  seed  bed  conditions  it  is  believed  advisable  to  locate  the  seed 
beds  a considerable  distance  from  the  farm  buildings  or,  at  least,  from 
the  curing  shed,  since  various  agencies  may  easily  carry  infected 
material  which  may  be  harbored  in  or  about  buildings  to  the  plant 
beds  when  they  lie  close  at  hand.  The  refuse  from  the  preceding  year's 
crop  should  be  burned  or  buried  to  reduce  danger  of  its  dissemination. 

It  is  an  unsafe  practice  to  sow  seed  grown  in  fields  infected  with 
wildfire,  without  adequate  disinfection.  Corrosive  sublimate  cannot  be 
used  for  disinfecting  seed  when  seed  is  to  be  sprouted  before  sowing. 
Silver  nitrate,  one  part  to  one  thousand  parts  of  water,  is  a satisfactory 
disinfecting  agent,  but  two  treatments  of  5 or  10  minutes  each,  allow- 
ing the  seed  to  dry  between  treatments,  is  believed  necessary  to  insure 
complete  disinfection.  Some  retardation  to  germination  usually  occurs. 
Seed  should  preferably  not  be  sprouted  in  the  same  cloth  used  in  dis- 
infection. 

The  wildfire  organism  dies  out  in  a comparatively  short  time  in  moist 
soil.  Planting  in  previously  infested  fields  is  believed  to  be  a safe 
practice,  especially  if  the  “stubble”  from  the  preceding  crop  is  plowed 
under  in  the  fall. 

If  infection  occurs  in  the  seed  beds  it  is  hazardous  to  use  even  ap- 
parently healthy  plants  from  such  beds.  It  is  believed  to  be  a good 
plan  to  construct  small  beds,  separated  by  paths,  rather  than  to  use 
large,  continuous  beds  in  which  infection  can  spread  more  readily.  In 
this  manner  the  seed  bed  areas  not  infected  can  be  used  with  greater 
assurance  of  safet}-. 

At  the  first  signs  of  infection  in  the  seed  beds,  effort  should  be  made 
to  destroy  the  infected  plants  together  with  the  immediate  surrounding 
area.  After  trying  out  various  methods,  the  conclusion  has  been 
reached  that  the  most  convenient  and  cheapest  way  to  do  this  is  simply 
to  cover  these  areas  with  three  or  four  inches  of  soil. 

In  case  a heavy  early  infection  develops  in  the  field,  plowing  under 
and  replanting  with  healthy  plants  should  be  given  serious  consideration. 
If  plowing  is  not  done,  all  infected  plants  should  be  removed  before  re- 


22 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


planting.  Removing  the  infected  plants  only  or  picking  off  infected 
leaves  is  of  doubtful  value  in  checking  the  disease  if  the  disease  is 
scattered  throughout  the  field,  even  on  only  a small  percentage  of  the 
plants. 

Working  in  a wildfire  infected  field  when  the  plants  are  wet  is  con- 
ducive to  spreading  the  disease,  if  the  plants  are  of  such  a size  that 
the  leaves  are  touched  consecutively. 

It  is  believed  that  the  methods  of  control  worked  out  and  suggested 
for  wildfire  apply  equally  well  for  the  similar  tobacco  disease  known  as 
blackfire  (Plate  II,  top). 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco  23 

SUMMARY 

1.  — Practically  every  case  of  wildfire  infection  in  the  field  can 
be  traced  to  seed  bed  infection.  This  is  borne  out  by  three  years 
of  observation  of  the  disease  in  Wisconsin,  as  well  as  being  sup- 
ported by  reports  from  various  other  states.  The  control  of  wild- 
fire is.  therefore,  almost  entirely  a matter  of  preventing  seed  bed 
infection  by  the  wildfire  organism. 

2.  — Locating  the  materials  which  are  the  common  sources  of 
carrying  the  wildfire  organism  to  the  seed  beds  is,  therefore,  an 
important  phase  of  the  development  of  control  methods.  This 
involves  determining  on  which  of  the  various  materials  likely  to 
come  in  contact  with  seed  beds  the  bacteria  causing  the  disease 
are  most  likely  to  overwinter. 

3.  — Other  things  being  equal,  the  wildfire  organism  lives  over 
winter  most  readily  in  the  dry  and  dormant  condition. 

4.  — The  wildfire  bacteria  readily  overwinter  on  infected  to- 
bacco leaves  which  are  cured  or  dried  and  which  remain  dry  be- 
tween growing  crops.  Small  amounts  of  infected  tobacco  trash 
may  accidentally  reach  tobacco  seed  beds  in  a number  of  differ- 
ent ways  and  this  material  is  believed  to  he  a common  source  of 
infection. 

5.  — To  reduce  chances  of  infection  from  overwintered  material 
in  the  curing  sheds,  it  is  advisable  to  locate  the  plant  beds  a con- 
siderable distance  from  the  curing  sheds  or  other  places  which  may 
have  harbored  infected  dry  tobacco  over  winter. 

6. — -The  wildfire  organism  can  readily  live  over  winter  on  the 
seed.  In  fact,  the  experiments  indicate  that  it  can  live  in  the 
dormant  stage  as  long  as  two  years  on  seed.  Seed  is  not,  however, 
apparently  a common  source  of  infection,  although  it  may  become 
so.  It  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  good  practice  to  sow  seed  from 
infected  fields,  unless  they  have  been  adequately  disinfected. 

7.  — The  wildfire  organism  does  not  seem  to  remain  alive  as 
readily  on  wood  or  cloth,  even  when  kept  dry,  as  on  leaf  tissue  or 
seeds,  but  since  these  materials  may  readily  harbor  infected  leaf 
fragments,  especially  if  stored  in  the  curing  sheds,  the  cleaning 
and  disinfection  of  seed  bed  frames  and  covers  may  frequently 
he  advisable. 

8.  — As  far  as  can  be  experimentally  determined  the  bacteria 
do  not  over-winter  in  moist  soil,  consequently  there  is  no  danger, 
as  far  as  known,  in  using  land  for  tobacco  which  has  grown  a 
previously  infected  crop,  especially  if  the  refuse  and  stubble  from 
the  preceding  crop  are  thoroughly  plowed  under. 

9.  — Plants  from  infested  beds  preferably  should  not  be  used 
for*  transplanting.  If  weather  conditions  are  favorable  for  the 
disease  an  extremely  small  amount  of  seed  bed  infection  may  re- 
sult in  heavy  field  infection.  In  a small  percentage  of  cases  this 
seed  bed  infection  may  be  so  small  as  to  escape  even  careful  in- 
spection. 


24 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


10.  — Spread  of  the  disease  in  the  field  is  almost  entirely  de- 
pendent upon  rainfall,  especially  with  strong  winds.  No  satis- 
factory measures  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  disease  in  the  field 
are  known. 

1 1 .  — While  dusting  with  copper  lime  dust  or  spraying  with  Bor- 
deaux mixture  in  the  seed  beds,  reduce  the  amount  of  infection, 
these  procedures  are  not  believed  to  prevent  seed  bed  infection 
sufficiently  to  materially  reduce  the  amount  of  subsequent  field 
infection  if  conditions  for  the  spread  of  the  disease  become  favor- 
able. 

12.  — Seed  disinfection  with  corrosive  sublimate  cannot  be  used 
where  seed  is  to  be  sprouted  before  sowing.  After  trying  out  a 
number  of  seed  disinfecting  agents,  it  was  found  that  a solution  of 
silver  nitrate  (1-1000)  gives  the  best  results.  It  is  believed,  how- 
ever, that  two  5-  or  10-minute  treatments  (drying  the  seed  be- 
tween treatments)  is  required  to  adequately  disinfect  infected 
seed  for  wildfire  control. 

13.  — The  wildfire  organism  may  often  lose  its  virulence  in  cul- 
ture in  a relatively  short  time.  Many  factors  seem  to  be  con- 
cerned in  this  loss  of  virulence,  among  them  being  the  nature  of 
the  culture  medium,  the  frequency  of  transfer  and  “strain”  differ- 
ences in  the  organism. 

14.  — The  wildfire  bacteria  produce  a toxin  in  host  tissue  and 
in  cultures  which  is  responsible  for  the  chlorosis  produced  in  plant 
tissue.  This  toxin  is  readily  separable  from  the  bacteria  by  filtra- 
tion and  will  in  itself  produce  typical  symptoms  by  inoculation. 
This  fact  should  be  taken  into  consideration  in  further  studies  on 
such  subjects  as  host  relations,  overwintering,  loss  of  virulence, 
and  culture  studies. 


Table  1. — Comparison  of  Different  Materials  as  Overwintering  Sources.  Inoculated  With  Pure  Cultures  and 
Extract  from  Green  Infected  Leaves.  (Series  I. — 1922.) 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco  25 


05 

c 

o 

o 

05 

c 

o 

Months 

o 

j + 

; 1 • 
0 : 

• 

: 

i • 

! 

1 : 

1 : 
1 : 

1 : 
1 ■ 

1 : 
• 

1 ' 

1 : 
1 : 

i + 

+ 

o 

05 

+ 

o 

o 

o 

1° 

|o 

1 

lo 

1 • 

|+ 

O' 

o 

+ 

o 

“ 

+ 

+ 

o 1 o 

1 

ol 

1 o 

1 o 

1 o 

lo 

1 

1 : 

j ; 
1 : 

+ 

+ 

o 

+ 

o 

o 

o 

1 o 

! o 

1 

t o 

I : 
1 : 

1 : 
1 : 

78 

70 

1 o 

1 

06 

L 

* 

1 CM 
1 00 

40 

o 

o 

° 

o 

1 

1 o i 
1 1 

o 

• 

80 

09 

o 

00 

00 

1 o 

1 °° 

00 

o 

o 

ol 

1 

o 

1 o 

1 ! 

o 

1 : 
1 : 

o 

05 

20 

o 

o 

o ! 

o 

! ° 

o 

1 o 

o 

o 

1 

lo 

1" 

84 

1 O 

1 

98 

CM 

1 CM 
CM 

CD 

o 

o 

o 1 

o 

i o | 

o 

0C 

o 

!° 

92  1 

1 o 
1° 

lo 

1 

CD 

o* 

Q) 

tJC 

CtJ 

c 

a? 

! 

cm 

00 

00 

62 

o 

o 

C- 

28 

o 

° 

1 o 

Tf 

o 

92 

<D 

CM 

CD 

00 

30 

48 

00  | 

I 

CM 

loo  i 
! w 1 

42 

i - 

o 

; o 

1 ~ 

96 

o 

100 

Days 

» 

8 L 

22 

44 

20 

40 

OC 

X 

CM 

1 o 

o 

1 

I 

o 

96 

© 

o 

50 

100 

78 

CD 

CD 

re 

50 

44 

! TT 

j 

1 CM 

1 ° 
1 

90 

CM 

100 

24 

100 

001 

CM  ! 

00 

99 

o 

1 CD 

1 

^ . 

1 CM 

1 

o 

92 

- 

100 

22 

100 

09 

L 

r 1 

40 

1 o 

I1"  1 

00 

rf 

1 Tf  ’ 

1 CM 

CM 

! o 

94 

Source  of 
Inoculum 

Pure  culture 

| Green  leaves 

Pure  culture 

| Green  leaves 

Pure  culture 

Green  leaves 

Pure  culture 

Green  leaves 

Green  leaves 

Green  leaves 

Pure  culture 

Leaves 

If 

a 

> 

a 

a 

i 

) 

Pure  culture 

Green  leaves 

Infested  material 

a 

a 

a 

V. 

‘c 

E 

’c 

■y. 

/ 

) 

c 

!/ 

T 

n 

c 

CC 

J 

Dried  green  leaf  pulp 

Extract  from  green  leaves  used  for  1,  2,  3,  4.  . . 

Water  suspension  used  for  1,  2,  3,  4 

Dried  leaves 

f 

1 

Cured  leaves 

Control 

Control 

Buried  leaves  with  and  without  soil  contact  . . 

No. 

1 

cm 

re 

* 

1 

m | 
1 

I 

50  1 

j 

1 

j 

1 

00 

05 

o 

- 

CM 

ir.  — • 


^ o 5 

oE- 
o 2 
*£  c 


£ £ 


to  a 
CC  !>■ 

c 


111 

a? 


c 

o £ + 


OD 

O G 
CHT3 


o - M5 

1C 

T3-^  O 

■si: 

lao 

6*3 

qj  QB_rc 
£— i to  y 


Table  II. — Comparison  of  Different  Materials  as  Overwintering  Sources.  Inoculated  With  Pure  Cultures  and 
Extract  from  Green  Infected  Leaves.  (Series  II.— 1922.) 


Percentage1  of  infection  after 

Months 

W] 

o 

[SC( 

+ 

DN 

+ 

SIN 

o 

1 

Researce 

o ! o 1 o 1 o 1 

1 1 1 ! 

i E 

i 

o i 

1 

>ULLETII< 

o o 1 o 1 

! 1 1 

r 6 

o! 

1 

2 

ol 

1 

lo  ! 
1 

i+l 

+ 

+ 

o 

o 

o 

o ! 

1 

O 

o 1 
1 

+ 

+ 

o 

1 

o 

o- 

o 

l* 

+ 

+ 

o 

o 

o 1 

1 

o I 

j 

! o 

1 

id 

« 

+ 

+ 

o 

o 

o 

o 1 

I 

o- 

: j 
: 1 

! o 

+ 

Days 

CM 

24 



42 

o 

00 

1 

o- 

; 1 
; | 

o 

+ 

CO 

32 

■<* 

cm 

o 

o 1 

1 

1 

ol 

1 

o ! 

o! 

1 

° 

o 

o! 

o 

1 

1 o 

1 

1 + 
i 

CM 

CO 

40 

CO 

CM 

o 

o 

o 

o 1 

° 

o 

o-  | 

O. 

o 

o 1 

o 

1 

| + 

CO 

co 

CM 

o 

cm| 

CO  1 
1 

O i 
Tf  1 

o 

CO  1 

- 1 

| 

o 1 

o 

o 1 

1° 

+ 

CO 

22 

00 

CO 

CM 

00 

Ol 

CO 

00 

CO 

1 

o 

o 

X 

|oi 

+ 

“ 

CM 

CM 

* 

<>■ ! 

cc ! 

I 

34 

0- 

^ I 

0 

01 

o 

° 

u 

Ol 

! o 

+. 

Ol 

CO 

n 

52 

o 

CM 

u 

1 

CO  | 

00 

CM 

CM 

Ol 

i>- 

|o 

+ 

Source  of 
inoculum 

Pure  culture 

Green  leaves 

Pure  culture 

Green  leaves 

Pure  culture 

Green  leaves 

Pure  culture 

Green  leaves 

Pure  culture 

Green  leaves 

Pure  culture 

Green  leaves 

Green  leaves 

: 

Pure  culture 

Infested  material 

c/ 

3 

D 

< 

0 

n 

5 

3 

0 

3 

r. 

5 

n 

< 

3 

r. 

: 

5 

\t 

i 

5 

3 

L> 

r. 

3 

3 

J 

Green  leaf  pulp 

Control 

: 

No. 

- 

CM 

CO 

i * 
1 

uO 

1 

o 

1 

i 00 

I 55 

•Where  percentages  are  given  they  are  based  largely  on  fifty  wound  inoculations  on  single  plants.  The  4,  7 and  9 month  inoculations  were  on 
seedlings  in  Hats.  + = infection  but  percentage  was  not  determined. 


Table  III. — Comparison  of  Different  Materials  as  Possible  Overwintering  Agents  When  Inoculated  With  Dried 
Infected  Leaves.  (1923.)  


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco 


27 


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Table  IV. — Influence  of  Storage  Conditions  on  Overwintering  on  Various  Materials.  (1923.) 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


in 

o 

* 

Lesions  on 
100  plants 

O 

CO 

70 

oc 

174 

187 

128 

144 

167 

186 

<2 

H 

Age  in 
months 

I> 

t> 

e- 

CO 

CO 

CO 

cO 

CO 

1 

CO 

6 

Z 

Lesions  on 
100  plants 

n 

26 

37 

88 

OS 

74 

OS 

00 

79 

98 

<£ 

h 

Age  in 
months 

CO 

cO 

CO 

CO 

lO 

£ 

n 

in 

m 

iO 

t No.  3 

Lesions  on 
100  plants 

CD 

05 

56 

50 

Tf 

CO 

06 

108 

128 

c n 
V 

H 

Age  in 
months 

m 

in 

in 

1C 

•<* 

Stored 

Inside 

Outside 

Inside 

Outside  | 

Inside 

Outside 

Inside 

Outside  | 

Inside 

Outside 

Inoculated  material 

X 

c 

V 

T 

Cl 

c 

CC 

! c 

l V 

c 

a 

r-i 

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c 

c 

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h 

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c 

a 

£ 

T 

a 

X 

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c 

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r 

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) 

3 

> 

7 

2 

3 

) 

3 

Table  Y. — The  Influence  of  Soil  Conditions  on  the  Wildfire  Organism.  (1923.) 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco 


m 

6 

2 

Lesions 
on  100 
plants 

o 

© 

174 

222 

291 

112 

167 

c n 
<v 

H 

Age  in 
months 

X 

CO 

m 

£ 

© 

© 

Test  No.  4 

Lesions 
on  100 
plants 

1 

o 

© 

00 

00 

108 

© . 
© 

© 

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in 

£ 

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on  100 
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134 

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152 

128 

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Test  No.  2 

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on  100 
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© 

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119 

127 

© 

00 

145 

Age  in 
months 

CO 

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Inoculum  used 
for  soil 

Infected  dried  crushed  leaves  applied  wet 

Infected  dried  crushed  leaves  applied  wet 

Infected  dried  crushed  leaves  applied  dry 

Pure  culture 

Pure  culture 

Pure  culture 

Infected  dried  crushed  leaves 

Condition  of 
inoculated  soil 

Air-dry  soil 

Moist  soil 

Air-dry  soil 

Air-dry  sterile  soil.  . . . 

Moist  sterile  soil 

Wet  sterile  soil 

1 

i 

i 

c 

c. 

5 

5 

; 

Influence  of  Moisture  on  Overwintering  of  Wildfire  Organism.  (1923.) 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


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Table  VII. — Dissemination  of  Wildfire  in  Field.  Plots  in  Row  from  West  to  East.  One  Hundred  and  Twenty  Plants 
per  Plot  Equally  Spaced. 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco 


u 

02 

£ 

Most  of  the  infection  in  this  plot  believed  due  to  infestation  which  was 
not  visible  at  time  of  planting 

Infected  from  neighboring  plots 

Infection  largely  from  the  5 infected  plants  in  the  plot 

All  about  equally  diseased 

All  about  equally  diseased 

All  about  equally  diseased 

Amount  due  to  handling  questionable  due  to  plot  lying  in  direction  of 
general  spread 

Infection  all  due  to  spread  from  other  plots 

Average 
number  of 
leaves  in- 
fected per 
plant 
Sept.  25 

10.6 

3.9 

SOI 

14.5 

14.2 

13.3 

14.5 

13.5 

Planting  (June  28) 

All  “slightly  diseased” 

All  healthy 

All  healthy  except  5 

Alternate  rows  of  healthy  and  slightly  diseased  . . 

Successive  rows  of  healthy,  slightly,  considerably 
and  badly  diseased.  Rows  north  to  south 

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3le  VIII. — Percentage  of  Plants  Infected  and  Average  Number  of  Infections  per  Plant  Following  Dusting 
and  Spraying  for  Wildfire  in  Green-House  Flats. 


32 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


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Tarle  X. — Average  Percentage  of  Infection  With  Bacterium  Tabacum  Carried  on  Different  Culture  Media  for 


Control  of  Wildfire  of  Tobacco 


34 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  62 


Table  IX. — Percentage  of  Plants  Infected  Following  Dusting 
With  Different  Materials  for  the  Control  of  Wildfire  in 
Green-House  Flats. 


Material  used 

Perce 

ntage  oi  ini 

Fection 

Series  1 

Series  II 

Average 

Sander’s  Dust 

75 

63 

69.0 

Limate 

58 

79 

68.5 

None  (inoculated  control) 

84 

79 

81.5 

Fungi-Bordo  Dust 

64 

84 

74.0 

Calcium  caseinate  (“Kayso”) 

49 

65 

57.0 

Soil  Dust 

96 

90 

93.0 

None  (uninoculated  control) 

0 

0 

0 

Literature  Cited 


(1)  Anderson,  P.  J.,  and  Chapman,  G.  H. 

1923  Tobacco  wildfire  in  1922.  Mass.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  213  : 1-27. 

(2)  Anderson,  P.  J. 

1924  Overwintering  of  tobacco  wildfire  bacteria  in  New  England. 
Phytopath.  14:  132-139. 

(3)  Clinton,  G.  P.,  and  McCormick,  F.  A. 

1922  Wildfire  of  tobacco  in  Connecticut.  Conn.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui. 
239 : 365-422. 

(4)  Fromme,  F.  D.,  and  Wingard,  S.  A. 

1921  Treatment  of  tobacco  seed  and  suggested  program  for  control  of 
wildfire  and  angular  leaf  spot.  Phytopath,  (abstracts)  1920:  21. 

(5)  Fromme,  F.  D.,  and  Wingard,  S.  A. 

1922  Blackfire  or  angular-leaf  spot  of  tobacco.  Va.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta. 
Tech.  Bui.  25 ; 4-42. 

(6)  Fromme,  F.  D.,  and  Wingard,  S.  A. 

1922  Blackfire  and  wildfire  of  tobacco  and  their  control.  Va.  Agr. 
Sta.  Bui  228:  1-19. 

(7)  Jenkins,  E.  H.  and  Chapman,  G.  H. 

1923  Wildfire  of  tobacco  in  1922.  Conn.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Tobacco  Exp. 
Sta.  Bui.  2:  7-38. 

(8)  Johnson  J. 

1924  Experiments  with  dusting  and  spraying  for  the  control  of  tobacco 
wildfire  in  seed  beds.  Phytopath  (abstracts)  14:  28. 

(9)  Johnson  J.  and  Murwin,  H.  F. 

1924  Disinfection  of  tobacco  seed  against  wildfire.  Phytopath.  (ab- 
stract) 14:  28. 

(10)  Johnson  J.,  Slagg,  C.  M.  and  Murwin,  H.  F. 

1924  Host  plants  of  Bacterium  tabacum.  Phytopath.  14:  175-180. 

(11)  Thomas,  H.  E. 

1924  Tobacco  wildfire  and  tobacco  seed  treatment.  Phytopath.  14: 
181-187. 

(12)  Tisdale,  W.  B. 

1923  Report  of  Tobacco  Experiment  Station.  Fla.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Ann. 
Rpt.  1923  pp.  125  R-140  R. 

(13)  Valleau,  W.  D.,  and  Hubbard,  C. 

1924  Angular  leaf  spot  and  wildfire  infection  of  tobacco  plants  by 
spitting.  Phytopath.  (abstract)  14:  29. 

(14)  Wolf,  F.  A.,  and  Foster,  A.  C. 

1918  Tobacco  wildfire.  Jour.  Agr.  Res.  12:  449-458. 

(15)  Wolf,  F.  A. 

1922  Wildfire  of  tobacco.  N.  C.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  246 : 4-26. 


September,  1925 


i $0  -1 

yj  7 


Research  Bulletin  63 


Transmission  of  Viruses  From  Apparently 
Healthy  Potatoes 

vHF  U8RARV  Of  I'Ht 

OCT  26  ya* 

r*  y*r  * 

^iVERSITy  of  iLLlr 

JAMES  JOHNSON 


Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
of  the 

University  of  Wisconsin 
Madison 


CONTENTS 

Introduction  - 

Experimental  Methods  

Inoculations  with  Diseased  Potato  Foliage 

Inoculations  with  Apparently  Healthy  Potato  Foliage... 

Inoculations  from  Tubers  and  Other  Organs  of  Potato.... 

Symptoms  of  the  Diseases 

The  Infectious  Nature  and  Increasing  Virulence  of  the 
Viruses . — 

The  Properties  of  the  Viruses  

Trials  with  Potato  Seedlings  and  Other  Healthy  Plants. 

Other  Host  Plants  

Transmission  Back  to  Potato  

A Combination  Disease  

Discussion  of  Results 

Summary  


1 

1 

2 

2 

4 

4 

5 

7 

7 

8 

8 

10 

11 

12 


Transmission  of  Viruses  From 
Apparently  Healthy  Potatoes' 


DURING  the  course  of  cross-inoculation  studies  on  certain  virus 
diseases  of  solanaceous  plants,  it  was  nuted  that  symptoms  were 
secured  on  tobacco  from  potatoes  selected  as  healthy  controls,  and 
that  these  symptoms  did  not  materially  differ  from  those  secured  when 
various  virus  diseases  of  the  potato  were  used  as  a source  of  inoculum' 
An  investigation  of  this  matter,  therefore,  was  undertaken  and  it  became 
increasingly  evident  that  extracts  from  potato  plants  which  are  healthy, 
within  the  ordinary  meaning  of  this  term,  are  capable  of  inducing  symptoms 
• of  disease  in  tobacco  and  other  solanaceous  plants.  Furthermore,  the 
ability  of  inducing  this  disease  is  apparently  universally  present  within 
most,  if  not  all,  of  the  standard  varieties  of  potatoes.  Three  distinct 
symptoms  have  been  secured  which  are  associated  with  at  least  two  and 
probably  three  distinct  viruses.  These  viruses  behave  like  those  of  most 
virus  diseases  of  plants  as  regards  transmissibility,  and  have  been  not  only 
transferred  repeatedly  through  several  generations  of  tobacco,  but  have  also 
been  used  to  infect  a wide  range  of  other  solanaceous  plants.  In  fact, 
one  of  these  virus  diseases  when  inoculated  back  into  the  potato,  after 
having  existed  in  tobacco  for  one  or  more  generations,  produces  under  the 
proper  environmental  conditions  a most  malignant  disease. 

Many  problems  have  naturally  developed  during  the  course  of  these  in- 
vestigations, centering  around  an  explanation  of  these  results.  As  far  as 
can  be  judged  at  present  only  two  theories  appear  to  be  logical.  Either 
potatoes  are  almost  universally  infested  with  viruses  or  they  are  capable 
of  initiating  virus  diseases  in  other  plants.  Whether  actual  proof  of  one 
or  the  other  of  these  theories  can  be  established  remains  to  be  determin- 
ed by  further  experimentation.  In  the  meantime  it  has  been  thought 
advisable  to  present  the  data  secured  up  to  this  time  in  summarized 
form,  with  brief  discussion  of  some  of  the  more  important  features  of  the 
problem. 


Experimental  Methods 

The  potatoes  used  in  practically  all  cases  have  been  grown  in  a low 
temperature  (17-22°  C.)  green-house  suitable  for  a good  development  of 
the  potato.  In  connection  with  other  experiments  similar  plants  have  been 
subjected  to  a wide  variety  of  environmental  conditions,  including  high 
temperatures,  and  in  no  case  have  selected  healthy  potatoes  exhibited  any 
symptoms  of  a disease  comparable  to  those  to  be  described  as  a result  of 
these  changes  in  environment.  The  Triumph  variety  of  potatoes  was 
used  in  all  experiments  unless  otherwise  mentioned. 

Cooperative  experiments  with  Office  of  Tobacco  Investigations,  Bureau  of  Plant 
Industry,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 

2Johnson,  James.  A virus  from  potato  transmissable  to  tobacco.  Phytopath,  (abstract) 
15:  46-47,  1925. 


? 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  63 


The  tobacco  plants  and  other  host  plants  used  were  grown  in  a high 
temperature  green-house  (27-32°  C.).  The  plants  were  grown  in  very 
fertile  soil,  transplanted  to  4-inch  pots  and  usually  inoculated  when  very 
young,  i.  e.,  with  only  two  to  four  leaves  large  enough  to  be  inoculated. 
The  potato  or  other  foliage  used  for  inoculum  was  crushed  in  a small 
sterile  mortar,  the  juice  strained  through  cheese-cloth,  and  inoculated  by 
means  of  sterile  needles  wrapped  at  the  end  with  a small  wad  of  absorbent 
cotton  to  more  readily  carry  drops  of  the  inoculum.  Twenty  to  forty 
punctures  per  plant  were  usually  made  in  the  leaf  blade  and  midribs,  al- 
though experiments  showed  that  a fair  percentage  of  infection  could  be 
secured  by  a much  smaller  number  of  punctures. 

In  the  early  experiments,  ten  plants  were  usually  used  in  each  series  of 
inoculations.  In  later  experiments  only  five  plants  were  used.  This  number 
gives  equally  reliable  information  except  in  cases  of  negative  results,  in 
which  case,  however,  the  experiment  has  always  been  repeated  with  the 
same  source  of  inoculum.  Infection  was  sometimes  evident  in  six  days, 
although  ten  to  fourteen  days  were  usually  required  for  final  counts. 

The  strain  of  tobacco  used  in  practically  all  the  experiments  was  the 
common  commercial  variety  grown  in  Wisconsin,  Connecticut  Havana  No. 
38.  Several  other  of  the  more  distinct  varieties  of  Nicotians  tabacum  have 
been  tried  sufficiently  to  warrant  the  belief  that  probably  no  important 
varietal  differences  exist  as  regards  susceptibility  to  these  diseases. 

Inoculations  with  Diseased  Potato  Foliage 

In  connection  with  the  earlier  work,  and  in  later  work  where  mosaic 
potatoes  were  used  as  controls,  inoculations  have  been  made  from  28 
different  Triumph  potato  plants  with  mosaic  symptoms.  This  involved 
inoculation  to  210  tobacco  plants,  infection  being  secured  on  154  or  73  per 
cent  of  the  plants  inoculated.  The  potatoes  used  were  mostly  Wisconsin 
grown,  coming,  howevqr,  from  several  different  farms. 

Inoculations  have  been  made  from  fourteen  other  diseased  potatoes  show- 
ing yellow-dwarf,  spindle  tuber,  leaf  roll,  rugose  mosaic,  and  other 
symptoms  not  clearly  defined.  These  plants  come  from  tubers  grown  in 
such  widely  separated  sections  as  Maine,  New  York,  Wisconsin,  and  Oregon, 
as  well  as  being  of  different  varieties.  One  hundred  and  five  inoculations 
were  involved,  infection  being  secured  on  71  plants  or  68  per  cent.  No 
consistent  differences  were  noted  between  the  symptoms  secured  from 
the  different  diseased  potatoes  used  as  sources  of  inoculum. 


Inoculations  with  Apparently  Healthy  Potato  Foliage 

1 he  potato  plants  used  in  this  group  of  inoculations  have  been  largely 
of  the  Triumph  variety  grown  in  Wisconsin.  In  connection  with  a tuber 
indexing  project  single  eyes  have  been  grown  from  over  12,000  different 
tubers,  coming  from  twenty  different  farms  during  the  past  winter.  These 
potatoes  grown  at  a low  temperature  (17-22°  C.)  in  the  green-house  in 
fertile  soil  have  given  an  exceptional  opportunity  for  the  selection  of 


Transmission  of  Viruses 


3 


normal  plants  as  the  source  of  inoculum.  From  this  stock,  however,  ap- 
proximately only  170  healthy  plants  have  been  used,  over  fifty  of  these 
coming  from  stock  indexed  for  mosaic  the  previous  season  and  grown  in 
isolated  plots. 

In  addition  healthy  plants  have  been  used  from  tubers  of  different 
varieties,  coming  from  Maine,  Michigan,  Idaho,  Oregon,  Colorado  and 
Florida.  These  potatoes  have  included  in  addition  to  the  Triumph  such 
varieties  as  the  Green  Mountain,  Irish  Cobbler,  Rural  New  Yorker,  Early 
Ohio,  Burbank,  People’s  Russet,  Peach  Blow,  King  and  Brown  Beauty. 
The  plants  were  usually  selected  for  inoculum  purposes  when  very  young, 
showing  usually  only  four  or  five  leaves,  the  plants  being  only  three  to 
six  inches  high.  In  the  case  of  about  150  of  these  plants  only  two  or 
three  of  the  basal  leaves  were  used  as  the  source  of  inoculum.  The  plants 
were  then  transplanted  to  6-inch  pots  and  allowed  to  grow  for  an  addi- 
tional two  months  (Plate  IV).  During  the  course  of  this  time  not  a single 
one  of  these  plants  selected  as  healthy  showed  any  symptoms  of  potato 
mosaic  or  any  other  disease. 

Inoculations  have  been  made  from  a total  of  170  healthy  Triumph  po- 
tato plants,  involving  965  inoculations  to  tobacco.  Infection  was  secured 
on  681  plants  or  70  per  cent  of  the  plants  inoculated.  In  about  2 per  cent 
of  the  cases  the  potato  plants  used  failed  to  give  any  symptoms  in  the 
first  trial,  but  whenever  this  occurred  a second  inoculation  was  made  and 
in  every  such  case  positive  results  were  then  secured.  Consequently,  all 
potatoes  tested  in  this  series  regardless  of  the  source  or  variety  have 
yielded  the  symptoms,  in  question  on  tobacco.  The  different  experiments 
naturally  have  not  been  equally  successful  in  the  percentage  of  infection 
obtained.  In  some  experiments  four  or  five  infected  plants  out  of  five 
inoculated  were  the  rule,  in  others  only  one  to  three  were  the  rule. 
These  differences  are  believed  to  be  due  in  part  to  environmental  differ- 
ences or  to  variations  in  predisposition  of  the  different  lots  of  plants 
upon  which  the  inoculations  were  made. 

In  experiments  in  which  different  varieties  of  potato  were  used,  20  plants 
(two  of  each)  were  tested.  One  hundred  and  twenty  plants  were  inocu- 
lated, infection  was  secured  with  66  plants,  that  is  with  55  per  cent  of  the 
plants  inoculated.  As  a rule,  no  significiant  or  consistent  differences  in 
expression  of  symptoms  were  secured  from  different  varieties.  Some 
varieties,  however,  seemed  to  give  a higher  percentage  of  infection  than 
others.  The  Rural  variety,  especially,  was  found  to  be  unlikely  to  give 
positive  results,  unless  conditions  were  especially  favorable.  It  should  be 
stated  in  this  connection  that  we  have  secured  at  least  two  or  possibly 
three  distinct  types  of  symptoms  from  healthy  potatoes,  although  they 
are  not  apparently  limited  to  particular  varieties.  The  Rural  variety  is 
distinctly  different  from  the  other  varieties  studied  in  that  it  is  least  like- 
ly to  yield  the  “mottle”  type  of  disease  and  most  likely  to  yield  the 
“ring-spot”  type.  The  difference  between  these  symptoms  will  be  de- 
scribed later. 


4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  63 


Inoculations  from  Tubers  and  Other  Organs  of  Potato 

A number  of  inoculations  were  made  to  tobacco  directly  from  the  potato 
tubers  themselves,  rather  than  from  plants  grown  from  such  tubers.  For 
convenience,  no  distinction  was  made  in  this  group  of  inoculations  be- 
tween the  use  of  healthy  and  mosiac  tubers,  since  in  about,  one-half  of 
the  cases  the  condition  was  not  definitely  known,  the  distinction  being  in 
any  case  apparently  immaterial  to  the  problem  under  consideration.  The 
tubers  used  in  these  inoculations  came  from  the  various  sources  previ- 
ously referred  to  and  included  all  the  varieties  previously  mentioned. 
The  inoculations'  were  usually  made  with  extract  secured  by  scraping 
the  flesh  of  a freshly  cut  tuber  and  straining  through  cheese-cloth.  Al- 
together 63  different  potato  tubers  have  been  used,  involving  inoculations 
to  365  plants  with  a total  of  130  plants  (38  per  cent)  infected.  The  per- 
centage of  infection  is  considerably  lower  than  that  secured  from  potato 
foliage.  Apparently,  the  infective  principle  exists  in  a less'  virulent  or 
a more  diluted  form  in  the  tuber  than  in  the  foliage,  although  this  con- 
clusion need  not  necessarily  follow  from  the  foregoing  results. 

In  two  sets  of  experiments  a considerable  number  of  tubers  failed  to  give 
infection.  It  was  decided,  therefore,  that  it  is  simpler  for  present  purposes 
to  use  the  growing  plants  as  sources  of  the  inoculum,  the  plant  in  any  case 
having  to  be  grown  to  determine  whether  the  tuber  used  was  healthy  or 
diseased.  Our  data,  therefore,  show  a considerable  number  of  negative 
results  with  tubers,  but  in  every  such  case  a plant  was  grown  from  the 
same  tuber  and  positive  results  secured  from  this.  The  infective  agent 
does  not  appear  to  be  localized  in  the  tuber,  interior  areas  of  tuber  flesh 
giving  infection  as  well  as  the  cortical  zone.  Young  white  sprouts  gave 
good  infection  and  extract  from  the  stem  or  root  tissues  gave  as  good 
infection  as  did  that  from  the  green  leaves. 

Symptoms  of  the  Diseases 

The  symptoms  usually  secured  on  tobacco  on  inoculation  directly  from 
potato  is  a regular  pattern  of  mottling  so  obscure  or  mild  that  it  readily 
escapes  casual  observation.  On  close  observation  in  comparison  with 
healthy  controls,  however,  there  is  usually  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  the 
symptoms,  although  in  some  cases  it  is  difficult  for  even  the  trained  eye  to 
distinguish  the  diseased  from  the  healthy  leaf.  On  the  other  hand,  in  many 
cases  the  mottling  is  especially  marked,  (Plate  1A),  and  may  in  some 
cases  be  accompanied  by  necrosis,  (Plate  3E). 

The  pattern  of  the  mottling  has  no  resemblance  to  that  in  ordinary 
tobacco  mosaic.  The  latter  is  usually  most  conspicuous  on  the  youngest 
bud  leaves,  whereas  in  the  case  of  the  disease  from  the  potato  the  bud 
leaves  are  normal  and  symptoms  appear  only  on  the  older  leaves  of  the 
young  plants  (Plate  3B,  F).  General  chlorosis,  leaf  distortion  and  stunt- 
ing are  usually  absent  in  the  first  transfer  on  tobacco,  although  in  sub- 
sequent transfers  to  tobacco  marked  necrosis  and  stunting  may  occur. 
The  pattern  of  the  mottling  and  necrosis  in  these  subsequent  transfers’ 
is  quite  characteristic  though  not  uniformly  so  (Plate  1C). 


Transmission  of  Viruses 


5 


As  previously  indicated,  in  inoculations  from  Rural  New  Yorker  potatoes, 
it  was  noted  that  the  symptoms  of  mottling  secured  from  other  varieties 
were  rare  or  entirely  lacking.  In  a small  percentage  of  the  inoculated 
plants,  however,  a distinctive  necrotic  symptom  developed  (Plate  2B) 
which  resembled  a disease  which  had  been  occasionally  noted  in  field 
tobacco,  and  which  has  been  referred  to  by  some  observers  as  “ring-spot". 
This  symptom  has  been  noted  subsequently,  however,  to  occur  in  inoculations 
from  other  varieties  than  the  Rural,  and  it  is  apparently  associated  at 
times  with  a preliminary  mottling.  That  the  “ring-spqt”  disease  is 
physiologically  distinct  from  that  associated  with  the  “mottling”  and  “spot- 
necrosis”  types  of  symptoms  secured  from  potatoes  appears  evident  in  sub- 
sequent transfers  to  tobacco  and  to  other  differential  hosts. 

This  would  seem,  therefore,  to  indicate  the  existence  of  at  least  two 
distinct  types  of  infectious  agents  in  apparently  healthy  potatoes.  During 
the  course  of  most  of  the  experiments  the  necrotic  type  of  symptom  com- 
monly associated  with  mottling  on  tobacco  has  been  regarded  as  merely  a 
more  virulent  form  of  the  latter.  Whether  this  is  true  or  whether  this 
necrotic  type  indicates  still  another  virus,  i.  e.,  a possible  third  type,  in 
combination  with  the  mottling  type,  has  not  been  satisfactorily  determined. 
Certain  recent  experiments  lend  probability  to  the  idea  of  three  distinct 
virus  types. 

While  the  ring-spot  symptom,  usually  starting  with  ring-like  chlorotic 
areas,  leads  to  necrotic  ring-spots,  this  development  is  distinctly  different 
from  the  necrosis  commonly  associated  with  the  mottling  symptom.  The 
latter  form  of  necrosis  frequently  bears  a relation  to  the  direction  of  the 
principal  veins  in  the  early  stages,  (Plate  IB),  and  the  entire  leaf  may 
subsequently  collapse.  At  other  times  only  small  necrotic  areas  are  formed 
which  may  subsequently  become  sufficiently  numerous  to  cause  a gradual 
death  of  the  entire  leaf.  This  is  the  form  of  disease  which  will  later  be 
shown  to  cause  a striking  disease  when  inoculated  back  to  potato.  For  the 
purposes  of  the  present  discussion,  therefore,  reference  to  this  is  made  as 
“spot-necrosis”  in  contrast  with  the  other  two  symptom  types,  “mottle”  and 
“ring-spot”,  although  further  studies  may  show  the  first  two  of  these  to 
result  from  the  same  virus. 

The  Infectious  Nature  and  Increasing  Virulence  of  the  Viruses 

It  was  at  first  supposed  that  the  symptoms  secured  on  tobacco  from 
healthy  potato  might  be  the  result  of  a toxin  or  other  irritable  substances, 
such  as  are  well  known  in  animal  pathology,  and  consequently  not  be- 
longing in  the  category  of  the  virus  diseases.  Trials  soon  showed,  how- 
ever, that  the  transmission  of  the  disease  from  tobacco  to  tobacco  is 
more  readily  accomplished  than  is  the  original  transfer  from  potato.  In 
such  subsequent  tobacco  transfers  a higher  percentage  of  infection  is' 
secured,  (Table  I),  the  incubation  period  is  shorter  and  the  symptoms 
are  more  marked.  If  it  is  considered  that  the  “spot-necrosis”  type  of 
symptoms  belongs  with  the  “mottle”  type,  then  very  striking  increase  in 
virulence  occurs  as  a result  of  passing  the  virus  through  one  or  more 


6 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  63 


generations  of  tobacco.  Occasionally,  however,  the  “spot-necrosis”  form 
has  been  obtained  on  tobacco  directly  from  healthy  potatoes,  but  more 
often  it  develops  following  the  transfer  of  the  “mottle”  form  through 
one  or  more  generations'  of  tobacco.  Increased  intensity  of  the  “mottle” 
and  the  “ring-spot”  form  have  also  been  noted,  and  increased 


Table  I. — Summary  of  Results  of  Inoculations  to  Tobacco  With 
Viruses  of  the  Type  Secured  From  Apparently  Healthy 
Potatoes. 


Source  ot  inoculum 

Number 
used  as 
inocu- 
lum 

Number 

plants 

inocu- 

lated 

Number 

plants 

infected 

Per  cent 
infection 

Potato  (Triumph)  mosaic  foliage 

28 

210 

154 

73.3 

Potato  (3  var.)  7 other  virus  diseases 

14 

105 

71 

67.7 

Potato  (Triumph)  healthy  foliage 

170 

965 

681 

70.5 

Potato  (10  var.)  healthy  foliage 

20 

120 

66 

55.0 

Potato  (10  var.)  healthy  tubers 

20 

120 

30 

25.0 

Potato  (Triumph)  healthy  and  mosaic 
tubers 

43 

245 

100 

40.8 

Potato  (seedlings)  healthv 

110 

5(?) 

4 . 5(?) 

Tobacco — infected  with  viruses  from  healthy 
potatoes 

695 

556 

80.0 

Tobacco — tobacco  mosaic  + virus  from 
healthy  potatoes 

270 

220 

81 .5 

Other  plants  (18  species)  healthv  foliage.. 

180 

0 

0 

Controls — no  inoculation 

360 

3(?) 

0.8 

virulence  up  to  a certain  limit  is  apparently  established  whether  “spot- 
necrosis”  is  considered  as  a separate  virus  or  not.  This  fact  is  of  special 
interest,  since  as  far  as  known'  such  increase  of  virulence  has  not  been 
definitely  noted  in  other  virus  diseases  of  plants,  although  it  is  commonly 
observed  with  animal  diseases  and  is  also  supposed  to  occur  with  some 
bacterial  diseases  of  plants. 

In  the  course  of  experiments  conducted  to  throw  some  light  on  questions 
of  infectivity,  increased  virulence  and  other  properties  of  the  virus,  695 
plants  have  been  inoculated  and  infection  has  been  secured  on  556  or  in  80 
per  cent  of  the  plants  inoculated.  This  percentage  of  infection  compares 
favorably  with  that  ordinarily  secured  in  experiments  with  other  virus 
diseases.  The  virus  has  been  passed  through  ten  successive  generations 
of  tobacco,  with  but  little  if  any  changes  in  its  behavior  after  the  second 
or  third  generation.  The  change  in  virulence  may  be  merely  a result  of 
changes  in  concentration  of  the  virus.  It  also  may  develop  that  the  number 
of  transfers  through  tobacco  is  of  little  importance  and  that  similar 
changes  may  occur  as  a result  of  the  continued  passage  of  the  virus  up- 
ward into  the  new  leaves  of  the  host  plant,  when  allowed  to  develop  to 
larger  size  than  commonly  used  in  our  experiments.  Neither  of  these 
ideas  is  substantiated  by  preliminary  observation,  however. 


o 


H . . 

u 


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> 1 
« I 


Cv3  rH 

So, 


<mo  Qw 


Plate  VII 

Early,  medium  and  late  stages  of  infection  on  potato  following  inoculations  with  the  “spot-necrosis”  virus  from  tobacco. 


Plate  VIII 

Tomato  plant  inoculated  with  a combination  of  tobacco  mosaic  and  virus  from  apparently  healthy  potatoes  showing  early  stage  of  disease. 
Control  plant  at  right. 


Transmission  of  Viruses 


7 


It  should  be  noted  in  this  connection  that  there  is  a decided  tendency  at 
times  on  the  part  of  plants  to  recover  following  the  first  attack  of  the 
disease.  This  has  also  been  noted  in  connection  with  other  virus  diseases 
of  plants.  Whether  this  is  merely  a form  of  partial  or  complete  masking 
as  a result  of  minor  changes  in  environment,  or  represents  a tendency  on 
the  part  of  the  plant  to  develop  less  predisposition  to  the  disease  has  not 
been  determined.  The  latter  suggestion  is  to  some  extent  counteracted  by 
recurring  periods  of  attack  by  the  disease. 


The  Properties  of  the  Viruses 

The  properties  of  the  individual  viruses  have  not  yet  been  studied  in  as 
great  detail  as  they  merit.  Some  of  their  more  important  characteristics, 
however,  should  be  stated  at  this  time,  although  it  is  expected  that  this 
subject  will  form  the  basis  of  a later  paper.  The  viruses  are  apparently 
not  as  readily  filterable  as'  the  virus  of  the  ordinary  mosiac  disease  of 
tobacco.  However,  they  will  pass  through  the  coarser  porcelain  filters 
which  yield  a sterile  filtrate.  Transmission  by  aphids  has  given  only  very 
low  infection  from  tobacco  to  tobacco.  On  the  other  hand,  the  potato 
aphid  has  given  high  percentage  of  infection  of  the  “spot-necrosis”  type 
from  potato  to  potato  or  from  potato  to  tobacco.  These  differences  may 
be  due  primarily  to  the  species  of  aphid  used  in  relation  to  the  host 
plant. 

Experiments  conducted  to  study  the  longevity  of  the  virus  outside  of  the 
living  host,  both  in  the  liquid  extract  of  the  plant  and  in  the  desiccated 
condition,  have  given  some  variation  in  results,  both  as  regards  the  particular 
virus  used  as  well  as  between  the  separate  experiments.  In  general  these 
viruses  are  strikingly  different  from  ordinary  tobacco  mosaic  in  that  they 
are  short-lived  when  separated  from  the  living  host.  In  most  cases  the 
survival  is  less  ;han  20  days  and  frequently  as  low  as  10  days.  In  general 
the  virus  survives  longer  in  the  drying  leaf  than  in  extracted  plant  juice. 

The  viruses  seem  to  be  considerably  less  resistant  to  heat  than  is  the 
ordinary  tobacco  mosaic.  The  “mottle”  and  “spot-necrosis”  types  are  ap- 
parently destroyed  at  about  70°  C.  in  10  minutes. 

The  “mottle”  and  “spot  necrosis”  type  have  been  diluted  up  to  one  to 
five  thousand,  and  have  still  yielded  good  infection.  Further  dilution  could 
no  doubt  be  tolerated.  Judging  from  preliminary  experiments  the  viruses 
in  question  are  relatively  resistant  to  germicides  and  other  chemicals,  as 
compared  with  bacteria,  being  more  similar  to  tobacco  mosaic  in  that  respect. 


Trials  with  Potato  Seedlings  and  Other  Healthy  Plants 

Repeated  attempts  to  induce  the  diseases  in  question  in  tobacco  by  inocu- 
lating with  juice  from  the  foliage  of  potato  plants  grown  from  true  seed 
have  failed  or  yielded  only  questionable  symptoms.  The  seedlings  used  have 
been  small  for  the  most  part,  but  in  a few  instances  plants  from  tubers 
grown  from  seed  the  previous  season  were  used  with  like  results.  The 
potato  seedlings  can,  however,  apparently  be  infected  with  the  viruses,  so 


8 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  63 


that  they  are  not  entirely  resistant  to  it.  Nothing  is  known,  however,  about 
the  source  of  the  seed  used  in  these  experiments  with  respect  to  variety  re- 
lationship or  to  age.  This  phase  of  the  problem  needs  further  investigation 
as  bearing  on  the  origin  of  the  viruses.  It  is  evident  from  experience  here 
with  the  Rural  variety  that  potato  varieties  may  be  expected  to  differ  in 
this  respect  and  because  of  the  heterozygous  nature  of  potato  seedlings  they 
may  be  expected  to  be  very  variable  in  their  infectious  properties.  Further- 
more, it  has  been  shown  that  the  viruses  obtained  from  potatoes  are  not 
resistant  to  desiccation,  and  that  if  they  ever  do  exist  within  the  seed  coat 
they  are  probably  destroyed  by  aging.  The  experiments  preferably  should 
be  repeated  with  as  young  seed  as  possible  secured  from  the  Triumph 
variety. 

Extracts  from  eighteen  different  species  of  healthy  plants,  mostly  of  the 
solanaceous  family,  have  been  inoculated  into  tobacco  without  yielding  any 
symptoms  of  disease.  So  far  as  known,  therefore,  the  potato  is  the  only 
plant  which  produces  infection  on  tobacco  and  other  solanaceous  plants  when 
apparently  healthy  plants  are  used  as  a source  of  inoculum.  In  this 
category  of  “apparently  healthy  plants”  there  has  not  been  included,  of 
course,  known  susceptible  hosts  of  mosaic  diseases  which  may  show  no 
apparent  symptoms  on  account  of  masking  or  other  circumstances. 

Other  Host  Plants 

The  diseases  produced  on  tobacco  from  healthy  potatoes  are  not  specific 
for  tobacco.  It  is  believed  that  a number  of  widely  different  solanaceous 
plants  might  have  replaced  tobacco  in  these  experiments,  Infection,  in 
fact,  has  bden  secured  with  one  or  more  of  the  viruses  in  question  on  all  of 
the  solanaceous  hosts  tried.  These  include  eight  distinct  varieties  of 
Nicotiana  tabacum,  twenty-two  species  of  Nicotiana  and  eight  other  species 
of  the  Solanaceae,  namely  tomato  (Lyco  perse  cum  esculentum) , Physalis, 
( Physalis  pubescens) , egg  plant  ( Solanum  melongena) , black  night-shade 
( Solatium  nigrum )',  jimson  weed  ( Datura  stramonium),  pepper  ( Capsicum 
annum),  petunia  ( Petunia  violaceae)  and  buffalo  burr  ( Solanum  rostratum) . 
A marked  variation  in  symptoms  naturally  occurs  on  the  different  hosts. 
“Spot-necrosis”  is  considerably  more  malignant  on  certain  other  hosts  than 
on  tobacco,  and  the  “ring-spot”  virus  apparently  shows  no  typical  symptoms 
on  such  hosts  as  tomato  or  pepper,  only  mottling  or  general  necrosis  oc- 
curring. 


Transmission  Back  to  Potato 

In  the  earlier  experience  with  the  viruses  secured  from  healthy  potatoes, 
there  was  some  reason  to  believe  that  the  infection  secured  on  tobacco  might 
be  potato  mosaic,  or  some  similar  known  virus  disease  of  the  potato  existing 
either  in  the  masked  state  or  in  a prolonged  incubation  period.  It  was  con- 
sequently important  to  inoculate  these  virus  diseases  back  to  the  potato 
from  tobacco,  in  comparison  with  inoculations  to  potato  from  ordinary 
potato  mosaic,  as  it  commonly  occurs  on  the  Triumph  variety. 


Transmission  of  Viruses 


9 


It  was  believed  at  this  time  that  the  potato  would  prove  to  be  very 
difficult  to  infect  with  the  virus  of  ordinary  potato  mosaic  and  that  a 
prolonged  incubation  period  would  be  required,  with  the  result  that  current 
symptoms  could  hardly  be  expected.  Consequently,  it  was  decided  at  once 
to  try  to  improve  on  the  technique  by  varying  the  environment,  with  the 
hope  of  shortening  the  process.  In  this  there  was  apparently  success,  since 
in  the  later  trials  90-100  per  cent  infection  was  invariably  obtained  in  10  to 
15  days  with  either  ordinary  potato  mosaic  or  the  new  “spot-necrosis” 
type.  The  percentages  of  infection  shown  in  the  summarized  results 
(Table  II)  are  greatly  reduced  by  low  percentages  of  infection  secured  in 
the  early  experiments. 

The  method  used  in  these  experiments  consisted  simply  in  placing  the 
inoculated  plants  for  a period  of  8-10  days  at  a high  temperature  (27-32° 
C.)  and  then  removing  them  to  a lower  temperature  (17-22°  C.)  favorable 
at  least  for  the  expression  of  potato  mosaic  symptoms,  and  the  general 
development  of  the  potato  itself.  No  doubt,  this  method  can  be  further  im- 
proved. 


Table  II. — Summary  of  Results  of  Inoculations  to  Potato  (Triumph 
Variety)  With  Viruses  of  Type  Secured  From  Healthy  Pota- 
toes in  Comparison  With  Other  Mosaics 


Source  of  inoculum 

Number 
of  plants 
inocu- 
lated 

Number 
of  plants 
infected 

Per  cent 
infection 

Symptoms 

Tobacco — “spot-necrosis" 

80 

65 

81.2 

Mottling  and  leaf 
drop,  plants  fre- 
quently killed 

Potato — “spot  necrosis” 

90 

73 

81 . 1 

Di  ease  similar 
but  not  as  viru- 
lent as  above 

Tobacco — “‘mottle" 

20 

1 (?) 

One  plant  dead 
probably  acci- 
dentally infected 
with  “spot-necro- 
sis” 

Tobacco — “ring-spot" 

20 

0 

0 

None 

Tobacco — tobacco  mosaic 

30 

0 

0 

Lesions  on  stems 
and  petioles 

Potato  (Triumph)  potato  mosaic. 

40 

25 

62.5 

Typical  potalo 
mosaic 

Tobacco — healthy  foliage 

50 

0 

0 

None 

Controls — no  inoculation 

50 

0 

0 

None 

As  shown  in  Table  II  good  artificial  infection  with  ordinary  Triumph 
potato  mosaic  was  secured  on  the  Triumph  variety.  These  inoculations  were 
made  simultaneously  with  the  inoculations  from  the  three  forms  of  virus 
diseases  secured  from  healthy  potatoes.  With  the  appearance  of  the 
symptoms  it  was  at  once  strikingly  evident  that  the  ordinary  potato  mosaic 
was  an  entirely  different  disease  from  any  of  those  secured  from  healthy 
(or  mosaiced)  potatoes  on  tobacco  (Plate  VI).  The  “mottle”  and  “ring- 


10 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  63 


spot”  types  of  disease  apparently  produce  no  symptoms  on  the  potato,  al- 
though this  may  need  further  verification  (Plate  V).  The  “spot- 
necrosis”  disease  when  inoculated  into  the  potato  from  tobacco,  however, 
produces  a diseased  condition  of  such  a serious  nature  that  not  frequently 
the  plant  is  killed  in  fifteen  to  thirty  days.  Following  the  first  general 
chlorosis  of  the  basal  leaves,  leaf-drop,  and  mottling  on  the  younger  leaves, 
the  plant  may  partially  recover,  leaving  a tuft  of  curled  and  mottled 
leaves  at  the  top.  (Plate  VII).  Tuber  formation,  however,  is  almost  pre- 
vented in  most  instances  when  compared  with  the  uninfected  controls.  There 
is  some  similarity  in  this  disease  to  some  of  the  known  virus  diseases  of  the 
potato,  as,  for  example,  late  stages  of  “streak”  or  “stipple-streak”,  and 
probably  to  “leaf-drop  streak”,  the  latter  not  yet  apparently  fully  de- 
scribed in  literature.  Whether  this  disease  is  identical  with  any  known 
virus  disease  of  the  potato  remains  to  be  determined. 

Eighty  potato  plants  have  been  inoculated  with  “spot-necrosis”  from 
tobacco  and  infection  was  secured  in  81  per  cent  of  the  plants.  In  the 
three  last  experiments  involving  ten  plants  each,  100  per  cent  infection  was 
secured. 

If  now  potato  plants  are  inoculated  with  the  virus  secured  from  potatoes 
infected  with  “spot-necrosis”,  infection  is  readily  secured,  usually  in  a 
slightly  smaller  per  cent  of  the  cases,  and  the  disease  is  decidedly  less 
malignant  than  in  the  transfer  from  tobacco  to  potato.  The  virus  in  this 
case  apparently  looses  some  of  its  virulence  while  in  the  potato.  This  also 
can  be  shown  by  comparative  inoculations  back  to  tobacco.  In  three  genera- 
tions on  potato  it  has  not  lost  all  of  its  virulence,  however,  and  whether 
or  not  it  will  ever  do  so  remains  to  be  ascertained. 

Neither  healthy  tobacco  plants  nor  tobacco  plants  affected  with  ordinary 
tobacco  mosaic  produced  any  symptoms  on  potato,  with  the  interesting 
exception  that  tobacco  mosaic  produces  brown  or  black  necrotic  lesions  on 
the  stems  and  petioles  of  potatoes  apparently  at  the  points  of  inoculation. 
Tobacco  mosaic  infection  was  not  found  to  be  systemic  in  potato,  however, 
and  it  cannot  therefore  be  said  to  be  a typical  host  of  tobacco  mosaic. 

A Combination  Disease  ' 

An  interesting  phenomenon  occurs  when  the  viruses  secured  from  healthy 
potatoes  are  combined  with  ordinary  tobacco  mosaic  virus  and  inoculated 
into  tobacco,  tomato  or  certain  other  solanaceous  species.  This  is  especially 
true  when  the  “spot-necrosis”  form  is  combined  with  tobacco  mosaic.  The 
combined  effect  of  the  two  diseases  is  much  more  malignant  than  either 
disease  alone,  in  simultaneous  inoculations.  If,  for  instance,  the  “mottle” 
type  of  virus  from  potatoes  and  ordinary  tobacco  mosaic  are  combined, 
li  arked  necrosis,  in  the  form  of  leaf  spotting,  may  occur  on  tobacco  whereas 
neither  one  of  these  alone  produce  necrotic  symptoms  on  tobacco. 

The  combination  disease  on  some  hosts  like  tomato  has  been  noted  at  times 
to  be  so  virulent  as  to  kill  the  entire  plant.  The  relation  of  environment 
or  other  circumstances  to  this  effect  is  not  sufficiently^  understood. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  frequently  the  combination  disease  on  tobacco 


Transmission  of  Viruses 


U 


proceeds  with  necrotic  effect  along  the  midrib  or  the  principal  veins  * x che 
leaf.  This  condition  may  sometimes  be  found  to  a less  striking  extent, 
however,  with  a single^  virus  when  it  possesses  necrotic  properties.  The 
plants  if  not  killed  exhibit  a special  tendency  to  recover  from  the  first 
effects  of  the  combination  disease. 

Discussion  of  Results 

The  experimental  evidence  summarized  is  believed  to  be  sufficient  to 
warrant  the  conclusion  that  most  potato  varieties  uniformly  possess  the 
property  of  inducing  a disease  in  tobacco  and  other  solanaceous  plants, 
which  is  infectious  in  nature  and  belongs  to  the  class  of  filterable  viruses. 
This  ability  is  present  regardless  of  whether  the  potato  is  healthy,  as  this 
word  is  generally  applied,  or  affected  with  one  or  another  of  the  common 
virus  diseases  of  the  potato.  It  is  not  meant  to  imply,  however,  that  none 
of  the  virus  diseases  now  known  to  occur  naturally  on  potatoes  may  not  be 
transmitted  to  tobacco  or  tomato,  although  the  evidence  that  such  has  been 
done  in  the  case  of  potato  mosaic,  as  reported  by  Schultz  and  Folsom3  and 
Quanjer4,  appear  doubtful  in  view  of  the  results  secured  with  healthy 
potatoes. 

In  view  of  the  wide  host  range  of  these  viruses  within  the  solanaceous 
family  it  is  rather  surprising  if  these  do  not  actually  exist  in  nature 
occasionally  as  specific  diseases.  While  it  has  not  yet  been  definitely  proven, 
it  is  possible  that  the  “ring-spot”  disease  of  tobacco  as  it  occurs  in  nature 
is  identical  with  the  “ring-spot”  disease  secured  from  potatoes  on  tobacco 
under  experimental  conditions.  It  would  be  rather  peculiar  if  the  disease 
referred  to  as  “spot-necrosis”  on  tobacco,  which  attacks  potatoes  with  such 
virulence,  is  not  found  to  occur  in  nature  on  potatoes.  It  is  difficult  to 
understand,  on  the  other  hand,  how  potatoes  can  so  generally  harbor  this 
virus,  without  any  apparent  symptoms  being  expressed,  assuming  that  this 
is  actually  a virus  disease  of  the  potato.  In  this  connection  it  should  be 
pointed  out  that  the  previously  existing  evidence  of  true  virus  carriers 
(meaning  infected  plants  in  which  symptoms  of  any  sort  are  never  ex- 
pressed) is  extremely  meager,  and  that  which  does  exist  needs  further 
verification.  The  potato  has  not  yet  been  put  into  the  category  of  a 
“carrier”,  although  it  may  eventually  prove  to  be  an  excellent  example  of 
tin's  phenomenon. 

If.  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  assumed  that  the  viruses  secured  from 
healthy  potatoes  are  not  actually  present  in  the  potato  as  a true  virus,  but 
merely  as  normal  (or  possibly  abnormal)  protoplasm  another  hypothesis, 
possessing  many  advantages  from  the  standpoint  of  explaining  what  is  now 
known  about  virus  diseases,  is  at  hand.  It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this 
bulletin  to  present  the  apparent  evidence  one  way  or  the  other  on  this 
subject.  Further  experimental  data  must  be  secured  to  establish  either  of 


3Schultz,  E.  S.,  and  Folsom,  D.  Transmission,  Variation  and  Control  of  Certain 
Degeneration  Diseases  of  Irish  Potatoes.  Jour.  Agr.  Research  25,  p.  43-117  (Plates 
1-15).  1923. 

^Quanjer,  H.  M.  General  Remarks  on  Potato  Diseases  of  the  Curl  Type.  Report 
Internat.  Conf.  Phytopath,  and  Ec.  Ent.  Holland,  p.  23-28  (Plates  I-IV).  1923. 


12 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  63 


! 

the"  ..jj.jotheses  that  have  been  presented  to  explain  the  results  obtained 
with  healthy  potatoes.  By  attacking  the  problem  from  new  angles  it  is 
hoped  that  this  may  eventually  be  accomplished. 


SUMMARY 

1.  — The  summarized  results  of  inoculations  from  potatoes  which 
are  healthy  as  far  as  can  be  determined  are  believed  to  be  sufficient 
to  show  that  at  least  two  different  viruses  are  commonly,  if  not 
universally,  present  in  most  standard  varieties  of  potatoes. 

2.  — The  diseases  produced  on  tobacco  are  infectious  and  are 
characteristically  of  three  types,  which  are  referred  to  as  “mottle”, 
“spot-necrosis”  and  “ring-spot.”  The  two  former  may  be  differ- 
ent expressions  of  the  same  disease.  An  increase  and  decrease 
in  virulence  of  these  forms  is  apparent  as  they  are  transferred 
between  hosts. 

3.  — The  properties  and  nature  of  the  viruses  are  similar  to  those 
of  other  well-known  virus  diseases  of  plants,  with  respect  to 
filtration,  dilution,  insect  transmission  and  resistance  to  desicca- 
tion, putrefaction,  heat  and  chemicals. 

4.  — One  or  more  of  the  viruses  can  be  transmitted  readily  to  a 
large  number  of  different  species  of  plants  of  the  solanaceous 
family. 

5.  — The  “spot  necrosis”  form  can  be  transmitted  back  to  the  po- 
tato where  it  causes  a virulent  disease,  the  “mottle”  and  “ring- 
spot”  forms  apparently  give  no  symptoms  on  potato. 

6.  — No  other  species  of  healthy  plant  has  been  found  of  which 
the  extract  will  induce  symptoms  of  any  kind  in  tobacco.  Potato 
foliage  from  true  seed  has  also  failed  to  give  any  definite  infection 
on  tobacco. 

7.  — -Ordinary  tobacco  mosaic  combined  with  the  virus  from 
healthy  potatoes  results  in  a combination  disease  with  striking 
necrotic  effects. 

8.  — -The  experimental  results  indicate  that  potatoes  are  either 
“true  carriers”  of  viruses,  or  that  potato  protoplasm  is  actually 
the  causal  agency  of  one  or  more  of  the  virus  diseases  of  tobacco 
and  other  solanaceous  plants. 


July,  1925 


Research  Bulletin  64 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


F.  R.  JONES  and  M B.  LINFORD 

^MVERUffy  0J 


Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
of  the 

University  of  Wisconsin 
Madison 


Contents 


Introduction  ----- 1 

Pea  diseases  and  the  canning  industry  1 

Studies  of  pea  diseases'  in  Wisconsin  1 

General  plan  of  the  1924  survey  2 

Field  notes  3 

Records  of  cropping  history  3 

Rootrot  caused  by  Aphanomyces 

Description  of  the  disease  4 

Environmental  conditions  controlling  infection  7 

Climatic  conditions  of  1924  in  relation  to  disease  7 

Occurrence  and  importance  of  rootrot  8 

Relation  of  rootrot  to  number  and  frequency  of  previous 

crops  of  peas  . 9 

Relation  of  rootrot  to  soil  type  and  drainage  13 

Relation  of  soil  reaction  and  fertility  to  rootrot  15 

Rootrot  in  first  crop  of  peas  15 

Persistence  of  the  parasite  in  the  soil  17 

Resistant  varieties  and  date  of  planting  17 

Control  of  rootrot  19 

Less  important  pea  diseases 

Fusarium  stem  and  rootrot  19 

Footrot,  a disease  resembling  Fusarium  stem  and  rootrot  ....  20 

Seedling  injury  caused  by  Rhizoctonia  20 

Seedling  and  root  injury  caused  by  species  of  Pythium  21 

An  undescribed  wilt  disease  22 

Leaf  and  podspot  or  “blight”  caused  by  Ascochyta  23 

Leafblotch  caused  by  Septoria  24 

A Septoria  leafspot  new  to  Wisconsin  24 

Anthracnose  25 

Downy  mildew  25 

Bacterial  blight  25 

Mosaic  26 

Summary  28 

Literature  cited  31 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin1 


AVOIDANCE  of  disease  is  a major  consideration  in  the  production 
of  peas,  whether  by  the  canner,  the  seedsman  or  the  market  gardener. 
Each  of  these  growers  when  entering  new  territory  has  usually  found 
it  to  his  advantage  to  grow  peas  repeatedly  on  the  same  ground,  and 
each  of  these,  outside  of  certain  irrigated  territory,  has  observed  sooner 
or  later  that  peas  failed  to  grow  as  successfully  as  formerly  on  his  older 
pea  fields,  and  has  been  obliged  to  remove  the  crop  to  new  ground  or  to 
adopt  a long  rotation.  The  reason  for  the  failure  of  peas  in  old  pea  fields 
seems  always  to  have  been  due  to  pea  diseases  which  have  increased  rapidly 
with  the  intensive  culture  of  the  crop.  Thus  it  has  come  about  that  pea 
diseases  have  largely  determined  the  cropping  practice  wherever  peas 
have  been  grown  for  a considerable  time.  This  is  especially  true  in  the 
production  of  peas  for  the  canning  factories  in  Wisconsin. 


Pea  Diseases  and  the  Canning  Industry 

From  the  time  of  establishment  of  the  first  canning  factory  in  the  state 
in  1889  until  about  1912,  nearly  every  company  that  entered  the  business 
Gwned  land  upon  which  it  grew  at  least  a part  of  the  peas  which  it 
canned.  In  certain  instances,  as  many  as  ten  successive  crops  are  said  to 
have  been  grown  on  company  owned  land.  However,  conspicious  crop 
failures  upon  land  that  had  grown  repeated  crops  of  peas  experienced  by 
some  companies  in  1910  and  following  years  were  called  to  the  attention 
of  the  State  Experiment  Station  and  led  to  the  beginning  of  an  investiga- 
tion of  pea  diseases.  The  opinion  was  soon  expressed  that  peas  could  not 
be  grown  successfully  on  the  same  ground  indefinitely  as  the  companies 
owning  the  land  had  hoped.  Following  the  advice  of  the  Experiment 
Station,  intensive  growing  of  peas  upon  company  owned  land  was  gen- 
erally abandoned  by  1915.  Since  that  time,  the  most  of  the  peas  have 
been  grown  for  the  canning  companies  under  contract  by  farmers  with 
the  supervision  of  the  company  field  agent,  though  a few  companies  do 
their  own  farming  on  land  leased  for  two  or  three  years.  Since  this  dis- 
persal of  pea  growing  over  a large  territory  around  factories,  disastrous 
crop  failures  from  pea  diseases  have  been  less  frequent,  though  they 
have  occurred  here  and  there  where  farmers'  have  been  permitted  to  re- 
peat the  mistake  made  by  the  companies  earlier.  Loss  from  disease  is 
no  longer  the  inhibiting  menace  to  the  industry  that  it  was  felt  to  be  in 
1912;  and  the  canning  business  has  grown  until  the  number  of  plants 
in  the  state  reached  135  in  1924,  producing  peas  on  about  102,000  acres'. 


Studies  of  Pea  Diseases  in  Wisconsin 

From  the  time  of  the  first  alarming  failures  of  peas  until  the  present, 
the  department  of  Plant  Pathology  of  the  Experiment  Station  has  been 
active  in  studying  the  several  diseases  which  have  been  found  contributing 
to  these  failures.  At  first,  the  conspicuous  foliage  diseases  were  regarded 
as  the  chief  cause  of  loss,  and  effective  control  measures  were  devised  and 


1By  Fred  Reuel  Jones,  Pathologist,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  and  Maurice  B.  Linford,  Industrial  Fellow  in  Plant  Path- 
ology, University  of  Wisconsin.  The  field  survey  was  supported  by  members  of  the 
Wisconsin  Pea  Packers’  Association. 


9 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  64 


generally  adopted.  When  these  foliage  diseases  subsequently  declined  in 
importance,  it  began  to  be  apparent  that  in  many  fields  root  diseases  were 
present  which  were  not  only  able  to  destroy  the  crop  effectually  as  the 
foliage  diseases,  but  which  were  remarkably  persistent  in  the  soil.  Further- 
more, it  appeared  that  trouble  of  this  kind  was  by  no  means  a local 
problem,  but  that  it  was  being  encountered  by  growers  in  many  parts  of 
the  United  States.  Thus  it  came  about  that  in  1919  the  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture  began  an  intensive  study  of  these  root  diseases  in  coopera- 
tion with  the  Wisconsin  Experiment  Station. 

In  this  later  stage  in  the  study  of  pea  diseases  several  root  diseases 
have  been  distinguished  and  described,  but  one  of  these  appears  to  be 
so  much  more  important  than  the  others  that  it  will  undoubtedly 
become  generally  known  as  “the  rootrot  disease”  of  peas.  This  dis- 
ease can  be  distinguished  in  the  field  without  great  difficulty,  and 
considerable  information  regarding  the  behavior  of  the  fungus  causing  it 
has  been  gained.  In  fact,  the  study  of  this  disease  had  reached  the  stage 
in  1924  where  new  and  very  specific  recommendations  for  its  prevention 
could  be  made.  The  new  recommendations,  however,  made  it  necessary  that 
the  field  agent  of  the  canning  company  should  be  able  to  recognize  this 
rootrot  with  certainty,  not  only  in  cases  of  conspicuous  crop  failure,  but 
in  less  conspicuous  beginnings.  Thus  the  time  had  come  when  any  as- 
sistance which  could  be  given  the  field  representatives  of  the  canning 
companies  in  acquiring  experience  and  skill  in  recognizing  the  disease  was 
of  financial  value  to  the  industry. 


GENERAL  PLAN  OF  THE  1924  SURVEY 

Although  the  study  of  the  root  diseases  of  peas  had  reached  a stage 
at  which  practical  suggestions  for  control  measures  could  be  made,  it  had 
by  no  means  reached  a satisfactory  conclusion.  The  relative  importance 
of  the  several  diseases  recognized  had  not  been  adequately  studied  in  the 
field ; an  important  effect  of  soil  type  on  both  the  increase  and  persistence 
of  disease  was  suspected  but  not  thoroughly  examined ; and  the  value  of 
resistant  varieties  had  not  been  tested.  Further  study  of  any  of 
these  things  required  wide  field  experience.  This  situation  presented  to 
the  pea  canners  of  the  state  early  in  1924  led  to  a field  inspection  for 
disease  in  a part  of  the  territory  of  30  canning  companies  at  their  own 
expense2.  This  bulletin  is  a fuller  report  of  the  findings  of  this  survey 
than  that  given  in  a previous  circular  (11)  together  with  a description  of 
diseases  of  peas  occurring  in  Wisconsin,  and  summaries  of  fragmentary 
studies  by  the  senior  author  of  some  of  these  diseases. 

The  first  purpose  of  this  survey  was  to  bring  assistance  to  the  canning 
companies  in  recognizing  rootrot  in  their  territory,  and  especially  in 
detecting  it  before  it  had  become  destructive  in  order  that  they  might 
avoid  losses  which  would  come  from  replanting  infested  soil  in  the  near 
future.  ' The  field  studies  reported  in  this  paper  were  thus  more  or  less 
secondary  to  this  major  purpose  and  were  in  some  respects  limited  by  it. 

In  the  course  of  the  survey,  688  fields  were  visited  comprising  5,416 
acres,  or  approximately  one-sixth  of  the  total  acreage  of  thirty-seven* 
factory  districts.  Nearly  all  these  districts  were  visited  twice  in  order  to 


2The  1924  Wisconsin  pea  disease  survey  was  financed  by  30  canning  companies  as 
listed  in  a previous  circular  (11),  operating  in  35  factory  districts.  Through  W.  E. 
Nicholoy,  Business  Secretary  of  the  Wisconsin  Pea  Packers’  Association,  these 
companies  subscribed  from  300  to  600  acres  each  for  inspection,  paying  fifteen  cents 
per  acre  for  the  service.  The  fund  obtained  in  this  way  was  administered  by  the 
University  under  the  general  supervision  of  L.  R.  Jones  in  consultation  with  R.  E. 
Vaughan. 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


3 


examine  both  early  and  late  plantings  at  the  stage  most  favorable  for 
inspection,  and  a few  which  contained  considerable  rootrot  were  returned 
to  after  the  close  of  the  canning  season  to  obtain  records  of  yields  from 
diseased  fields  and  to  complete  other  important  records. 


Field  Notes 

Individual  records  were  made  of  each  field  inspected  (fig.  1).  In  most 
cases  diseases  both  of  foliage  and  roots  were  determined  and  recorded  in 
the  field,  but  in  frequent  doubtful  cases  samples  were  collected  for 
microscopic  examination  or  for  making  of  cultures. 


PEA  DISEASE  SURVEY 


Company 
Farm  Owner 
Variety 
Stage 
Rootrot 


Address 
Planted 
Soil  Type 


No.  - 
Date 


FIELD  HISTORY 


1922 


Ascochyta 
Colletotrichum 
Septoria 
Bac.  Blight 
Downy  Mildew 
Ppwdery  Mildew 


Fusarium 

Pythium 

Rhizoctonta 

Mosaic 

Nodules 

Aphids 


FIG.  1-  DATA  INCLUDED  ON  FIELD  SURVEY  CARDS 

The  soil  type  was  determined  from  soil  maps  of  the  Wisconsin  Soil 
Survey  in  mapped  counties.  In  counties  not  mapped  a few  of  the  more 
common  series  were  readily  identified,  but  in  some  cases  the  soil  class 
only  was  recorded.  The  classification  and  nomenclature  of  the  Soil  Survey 
are  followed  in  this  bulletin. 


Records  of  Cropping  History 

The  most  necessary  information  to  be  secured  regarding  each  field 
visited,  and  the  most  difficult  information  to  secure  with  adequate  accuracy 
was  its  previous  cropping  history,  and  especially  the  years  in  which  all 
previous  crops  of  peas  had  been  grown.  A cropping  history  was  regarded 
as  satisfactorily  complete  when  the  dates  of  all  previous  crops  of  peas 
were  secured,  but  even  this  limited  field  history  was  often  lacking  and 
data  of  great  value  lost. 

In  this  connection,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  while  the  survey  aimed  to 


3Data  are  included  in  this  paper  from  two  factory  districts  in  addition  to  the 
thirty-five  subscribed. 


4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  64 


cover  fields  in  which  peas  had  previously  been  grown  in  preference  to 
others,  nevertheless  records  at  the  end  of  the  season  showed  that  48  per 
cent  of,  all  fields  visited  had  never  grown  peas  previous  to  1924.  The 
percentage  of  fields  visited  which  were  growing  their  first,  up  to  their 
sixth  crop  of  peas  is  shown  in  Fig.  2.  Apparently  at  least  half,  probably 
much  more  than  half,  of  the  peas  grown  in  Wisconsin  in  1924  were 
grown  on  ground  new  to  peas,  and  only  a very  small  acreage  had  ever 
grown  as  many  as  two  previous  crops.  A smaller  acreage  on  land  new  to 
peas  will  necessarily  be  fotind  in  succeeding  years. 


FIG.  2— DISTRIBUTION  OF  FIELDS  ACCORDING  TO  NUMBER  OF  CROPS 

OF  PEAS  GROWN 

Showing  the  extent  to  which  inspected  peas  were  growing  in  fields  new  or 
relatively  new  to  peas. 


ROOTROT  CAUSED  BY  APHANOMYCES 
Description  of  the  Disease 

Inasmuch  as  this  survey  was  designed  primarily  to  discover  the  re- 
lation of  rotation  and  soil  conditions  to  the  occurrence  of  rootrot  it 
is  necessary  to  describe  in  detail  the  disease  and  the  fungus  causing  it. 

Rootrot  is  primarily  a fungous  soft  rot  of  the  primary  cortex  of  the 
roots  and  epicotyl  of  the  plant  (fig.  3),  extending  one  or  two  inches 
above  ground  under  humid  conditions.  Plants  are  susceptible  at  all  ages, 
and  the  disease  may  begin  at  any  point  or  at  many  points  simultaneously 
in  the  root  system.  Lesions  are  at  first  watersoaked  areas  yellowish  to 
straw  colored,  especially  on  the  epicotyl.  From  any  point  of  entry,  the 
fungus  spreads  rapidly  in  all  directions  through  cortical  tissue  until  that 
tissue  has  been  completely  decayed.  Although  the  causal  fungus  does  not 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


d 


FIG.  3— HEALTHY  PLANT  (A)  IN  CONTRAST  WITH  PLANTS  DAMAGED 

BY  ROOTROT  (B). 

Roots  of  diseased  plants,  and  stem  to  just  above  the  surface  of  the  soil, 
are  softened,  darkened  and  shriveled.  Stein,  roots  and  nodules  of  the  healthy 
plant  are  plump  and  white.  Severe  root  injury  has  caused  the  death  of  the 
leaves  of  the  plant  at  the  right.  i Photograph  courtesy  of  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture.) 


6 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  64 


penetrate  the  endodermis  of  the  mature  root,  it  does  cause  the  death  of 
the  meristematic  tissue  at  root  ends.  Thus  root  growth  is  stopped.  In 
the  older  roots  the  decay  of  the  cortex  exposes  the  endodermis  to  the 
attack  of  other  soil  inhabiting  fungi.  In  a few  resistant  varieties  a 
protective  secondary  cortex  is  formed  from  a cambium  developing  in 
the  pericycle;  but  in  most  varieties  this  has  not  been  found  to  occur,  and 
the  endodermis  does  not  appear  to  be  an  effective  barrier  against  all 
invaders.  In  the  epicotyl,  unprotected  by  an  endodermis,  the  vascular 
tissues  are  readily  entered  by  several  species  of  Fusarium  which  may 
quickly  kill  the  plant. 

The  effects  of  the  disease  upon  the  plant  as  a whole  are  not  definitely 
characteristic,  but  depend  largely  upon  the  stage  of  development  at  which 
infection  takes  place.  If  the  attack  comes  early  in  the  development  of 
the  plant  while  the  root  system  is  small  and  incapable  of  supporting  a 
large  vine,  the  vines  are  stunted  or  killed  immediately.  If  severe  injury 
to  the  roots  is  delayed  until  the  roots  have  attained  nearly  their  full 
extent  and  if  abundant  moisture  is  never  lacking  from  the  soil,  the  plant 
may  appear  nearly  normal,  and  mature  to  the  canning  stage  at  least  a 
large  fraction  of  a normal  crop.  Thus  this  disease  is  not  always  readily 
discernable  in  the  field.  When  conspicuous  injury  to  the  vine  is  absent,  it 
is  necessary  to  examine  roots  to  find  the  disease.  When  these  are  dug, 
the  softened  shrunken  condition  of  the  cortex  of  roots  and  base  of  the  stem 
is  usually  readily  observable.  Sometimes  when  diseased  plants  are  pulled 
the  vascular  cylinder  of  the  tap  root  pulls  out  readily  from  the  decayed 
cortex  as  a long  string,  while  roots  of  healthy  plants  almost  always  break 
at  the  attachment  of  the  seed.  In  cases  which  are  not  readily  determined 
from  superficial  examination  it  is  always  possible  to  discover  the  character- 
istic spores  (10)  of  the  causal  fungus  in  the  decayed  cortex  by  a micro- 
scopic examination. 

Since  the  parasitic  fungus  causing  rootrot  has  been  described  fully  in  a 
recent  paper  (10)  only  the  more  important  details  of  its  life  history  need 
to  be  repeated  here.  The  fungus,  Aphanomyces  euteiches  Drechsler,  is 
one  of  the  few  exceptional  species  of  this  genus  of  the  Saprolegneaceae 
not  strictly  aquatic  in  habit.  It  is,  however,  dependent  upon  a period  of 
submergence  in  water  for  the  production  of  its  asexual  spores.  It  is  most 
readily  discernable  in  the  host  tissue  as  subspherical  oospores  18  to  25 
microns  in  diameter,  surrounded  by  oogonial  walls  of  unusual  thickness. 
The  mycelium  in  the  host  tissue  is  abundant,  intracellular  for  the  most 
part,  but  ephemeral  in  a living  condition,  since  the  contents  are  rapidly 
transferred  to  the  abundant  oospores.  This  mycelium  is  not  readily  dis- 
tinguished from  that  of  other  Phycomycetous  species,  especially  of  Pythium, 
which  frequently  accompany  it.  The  oospores  occurring  in  the  host  tissue 
have  not  been  germinated,  but  those  produced  in  culture  germinate  readily 
giving  rise  to  non-spetate  mycelium  on  a moist  substrate  or  in  water 
having  sufficient  nutrient  material.  In  pure  water  they  give  rise  more 
or  less  directly  to  zoospores.  These  zoospores  come  to  rest  after  a period 
of  motility  and  germinate  giving  rise  to  mycelium.  The  mycelium  when 
young  may  function  more  or  less  completely  without  apparent  differentiation 
as  sporangia  under  aquatic  conditions  giving  rise  to  numerous  zoospores. 

It  has  not  been  possible  to  follow  the  life  history  of  the  fungus  in 
nature.  No  evidence  of  conveyance  with  pea  seed  has  been  found.  It  is 
believed  that  the  abundant  oospores  formed  in  the  host  tissue  persist  for 
a long  time  in  the  soil.  Mycelium  from  germinating  oospores  is  able  to 
penetrate  pea  roots,  and  it  is  possible  that  zoospores  formed  when 
the  soil  is  filled  with  water  may  also  be  a source  of  infection.  It  is 
also  possible  that  the  mycelium  may  persist  for  a time  in  the  soil  as  a 
saprophyte.  No  other  plant  than  species  of  Pisum  are  known  to  be 
invaded  by  this  fungus. 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


/ 


Environmental  Conditions  Controlling  Infection 

The  time  of  appearance  of  the  disease  in  the  field  appears  to  be  controlled 
chiefly  by  the  temperature  of  the  soil.  Although  laboratory  study  shows  that 
the  oospores  may  germinate  giving  rise  to  zoospores  at  a temperature  as 
low  as  9 to  10° C.,  very  little  infection  of  pea  plants  has  been  found 
either  in  controlled  experiments  or  in  the  field  until  a temperature  of 
15°  C.  has  been  reached.  The  disease  develops  rapidly  when  soil  temp- 
erature is  between  15°  and  30° C. 

The  effect  of  soil  moisture  upon  the  development  of  the  disease  in  the 
field  appears  to  be  important.  Although  greenhouse  experiments  have 


FIG.  4— MEAN  DAILY  SOIL  TEMPERATURE  AT  A DEPTH  OF  2 INCHES 
Recorded  at  Madison,  Wisconsin,  from  May  1 to  June  30,  1923  and  1924. 


failed  to  show  that  there  is  any  necessary  relation  between  soil  moisture 
and  the  severity  of  disease,  yet  in  the  field  infection  seems  to  be  more 
prompt  and  abundant  after  heavy  rains.  Thus  in  the  field  the  disease 
can  be  expected  when  rains  have  thoroughly  wet  the  soil  after  it  has 
attained  a daily  average  temperature  of  15° C. 

Climatic  Conditions  of  1924  in  Relation  to  Disease 

The  climatic  conditions  during  the  pea  growing  season  of  1924  presented 
peculiarities  which  need  to  be  considered  in  interpreting  the  results  of 
this  survey. 

April,  May,  and  June  were  cold  and  cloudy  with  an  unusual  number 
of  rainy  days.  Planting  was  begun  early  in  April  but  it  was  not  com- 
pleted along  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  until  June  13,  and  the  peas 
planted  early  spent  an  extradordinary  length  of  time  between  planting 


8 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  64 


and  harvest.  July  and  August  were  both  cool,  and  in  the  major  pea 
sections  of  the  state  were  marked  by  frequent  rains.  August  1924  was  the 
wettest  August  in  the  climatological  history  of  Wisconsin,  and  heavy 
rains  in  the  fore  part  of  the  month  caused  great  damage  to  the  peas  which 
were  not  then  harvested.  That  low  soil  temperature  restrained  the  develop- 
ment of  rootrot  until  later  than  usual  is  indicated  by  a record  of  soil 
temperature  kept  at  Madison  during  this  season.  The  record  for  1924  is 
charted  with  a similar  record  made  in  1923  in  Fig.  3.  This  figure  shows 
that  while  soil  temperature  in  1924  averaged  somewhat  higher  than  in 
1923  up  to  May  24,  it  was  not  high  enough  to  permit  of  much  infection 
by  Aphanomyces  to  that  date.  After  May  24,  soil  temperature  was  cooler 
in  1924  than  in  1923.  Not  until  June  10  did  the  soil  become  permanently 
warm  enough  to  favor  the  development  of  the  disease,  whereas,  that  condi- 
tion was  reached  June  1 in  1923.  From  this  and  from  other  meager  soil 
temperature  records  at  hand  it  appears  that  the  disease  was  restrained 
from  development  in  1924  until  later  than  usual.  Continued  low  tempera- 
ture through  June  was  unfavorable  for  other  soil  fungi  which  often 
complete  the  destruction  of  plants  injured  by  Aphanomyces.  Thus  cool 
weather  probably  accounts  for  the  less  destructive  character  of  root- 
rot  in  1924, — a condition  believed  to  be  a fact  by  several  observers. 

Occurrence  and  Importance  of  Rootrot 

During  the  1924  survey  the  rootrot  of  peas  caused  by  Aphanomyces 
was  found  to  be  far  more  important  than  all  the  other  parasitic  dis- 
eases combined,  causing  losses  amounting  to  approximately  8 per  cent  of 
the  yield  of  the  total  acreage  inspected.  Of  the  688  fields  aggregating  5,416 
acres  inspected,  222  fields  or  32  per  cent  were  found  to  contain  the 
disease  in  greater  or  smaller  amounts.  The  infested  territory  was  by 
no  means  distributed  uniformly  through  the  several  districts.  Two  of 
the  37  districts  appeared  to  be  free  from  any  traces  of  it  while  in  one 
district  62  per  cent  of  566  acres  examined  were  more  or  less  thoroughly 


68%  NO  DISEASE 

ifli 

FIG.  5— ROOTROT  IN  SURVEYED  FIELDS 
Diagram  showing  the  percentage  of  all  fields  examined  which  contained 
the  amounts  of  rootrot  indicated.  (See  discussion,  page  9). 


infested.  In  general,  the  younger  .canning  districts  were  freer  from  disease 
than  the  older,  though  a few  older  districts  had  rotated  the  crop  so 
carefully  or  had  removed  the  crop  to  new  ground  so  completely  that 
little  disease  was  found  in  them. 

Fields  recorded  as  containing  rootrot  had  widely  different  amounts  from 
a mere  handful  of  plants  to  complete  infestation.  In  each  case  an  estimate 
was  made  of  the  area  infested  as  a certain  percentage  of  the  entire  field. 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


9 


The  infested  fields  have  been  classified  for  convenience  as  follows  : fields 
showing  from  a trace  to  25  per  cent  of  the  area  infested  are  regarded 
as  having  “light”  infestation ; those  having  from  26  to  75  per  cent  are 
called  “medium”,  and  those  with  from  76  to  100  per  cent  are  regarded  as 
having  “heavy”  infestation.  The  result  of  this  classification  is  shown 
praphically  in  Fig.  5.  Of  all  fields  surveyed,  68  per  cent  had  no  rootrot. 
.15  per  cent  had  light  infestation,  6 per  cent  had  medium  and  11  per  cent 
had  heavy  infestation. 

The  fields  in  which  rootrot  occurred  were  not  always  damaged  in  direct 
proportion  to  the  amount  of  rootrot  present  for  reasons  which  are  discussed 
later.  A more  accurate  picture  of  the  extent  and  distribution  of  losses 


Table  I. — Rootrot-Infested  Acreage  Classified  According  to  Esti- 
mated®  Reduction  in  Yield  Due  to  Rootrot. 


Reduction  in  yield 

Total  acreage 

Percentage  of  total 
rootrot-infested 
acreage 

Percentage  of  total 
inspected 
acreage 

0-5% 

1228 

57 

22.7 

6-25% 

356 

16 

6.6 

26-50% 

186 

9 

3.4 

51-100% 

379 

18 

7.0 

aThe  heavier  losses  were  estimated  by  comparing  actual  yields  from  diseased 
fields  with  average  yields  from  disease-free  fields  of  the  same  variety  in  the  same 
locality. 


can  be  gained  by  grouping  infested  fields  into  classes  based  on  the  extent 
of  crop  reduction.  Such  a classification  is  given  in  Table  1.  From  this 
table  it  appears  that  in  over  half  the  infested  acreage  the  loss  was  negligible 
but  in  18  per  cent  of  the  infested  acreage  loss  amounted  to  from  50  to 
100  per  cent  of  the  crop. 

Relation  of  Rootrot  to  Number  and  Frequency  of  Previous 

Crops  of  Peas 

That  the  occurrence  of  rootrot  is  closely  correlated  with  the  number 
and  frequency  of  crops  of  peas  in  a given  field  is  one  of  the  most  widely 
recognized  characteristics  of  the  disease.  An  exact  statement  of  this 
correlation,  and  a study  of  its  characteristics  were  among  the  first  objects 
sought  in  the  survey.  The  correlation  is  very  striking  when  the  survey- 
records  as  a whole  are  considered.  There  was  almost  no  rootrot  in  fields 
which  had  grown  no  peas  before,  and  a rapid  increase  in  the  frequency 
of  its  occurrence  was  found  with  each  succeeding  crop  whether  these  crops 
were  in  succession  or  at  short  intervals. 

Increase  in  percentage  of  fields  diseased. — Neglecting  for  the  moment 
the  interval  that  had  elapsed  in  some  cases  between  crops  of  peas — 
the  records  show  that  the  interval  was  rarely  long  enough  to  be  important — 
the  fields  may  be  divided  into  groups  based  on  the  number  of  crops  of 
peas  which  they  had  produced.  When  this  classification  has  been  made, 
fields  growing  the  first  recorded  crop  had  rootrot  in  but  8 per  cent  of 
their  number,  while  every  field  growing  the  fifth  crop  had  rootrot.  The 
percentage  of  fields  showing  rootrot  in  each  class  is  shown  in  the  upper 
line  of  Fig.  6.  The  increase  in  infestation  with  each  succeeding  crop 
of  peas  rises  regularly  almost  as  a straight  line  from  8 per  cent  *in  the 
first  crop  to  100  per  cent  in  the  fifth.  Since  the  last  two  classes  are 
small,  it  must  not  be  assumed  that  this  curve  presents  an  altogether  accurate 


10 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  64 


picture  of  the  rate  of  appearance  of  the  disease  under  all  conditions  in 
the  state.  However,  it  can  probably  be  regarded  as  an  approximately  correct 
average. 

One  characteristic  of  the  correlation  between,  rootrot  and  the  number  of 
crops  of  peas  grown  in  a field  which  has  appeared  in  the  records  obtained 
this  year  is  not  shown  in  this  presentation.  This  important  characteristic 
is  best  seen  when  the  fields  thoroughly  infested  with  rootrot — those  in 


Percent 
of  Fields 


fig.  6— increase  in  percentage  of  fields  containing  rootrot, 
and  fields  thoroughly  infested,  with  increase  in 
number  of  crops  of  peas  grown 


which  most  of  the  larger  losses  occurred — are  classified  and  plotted  in- 
dependently (fig.  5,  lower  line).  When  the  diagram  produced  in  this 
way,  showing  the  relation  of  thorough  infestation  to  rotation,  rather  than 
the  presence  of  the  rootrot  disease  in  any  discoverable  amount,  is  examined, 
its  character  is  found  quite  different  from  the  former  figure.  This  curve 
rises  very  slowly  until  with  the  fourth  crop  of  peas  only  17  per  cent  of 
all  the  fields  are  in  this  class;  but  in  the  fifth  year  the  percentage  suddenly 
rises  to  56  per  cent  of  all  fields  in  the  class.  Stated  in  another  way,  these 
figures  suggest  that  under  average  field  conditions  in  the  territory  surveyed 
it  is  possible  to  grow  on  new  fields  four  successive  or  nearly  successive 
crops  of  peas  without  great  peril  from  large  loss  from  rootrot ; but  that 
with  the  fifth  crop  there  is  about  an  even  chance  that  the  field  will  be 
severely  damaged,  and  that  with  the  sixth  crop  there  is  but  one  chance 
in  four  of  a profitable  yield. 

Increase  of  rootrot  in  average  Wisconsin  field. — The  field  records  used 
in  the  preparation  of  the  diagram  previously  discussed  may  be 
presented  in  a different  manner  that  has  some  interest,  even  though  it  is 
not  as  clearly  and  directly  significant  to  the  pea  grower.  If  all  the  fields 
covered  in  the  survey  are  classified  as  previously  into  groups  based  on 
the  number  of  the  present  crop  in  the  field,  and  the  figures  representing 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


11 


the  percentage  of  rootrot  infestation  in  the  fields  of  each  group  are 
average  and  plotted  (fig.  7.),  a diagram  is  produced  which  may  be  regarded 
as  showing  the  percentage  of  the  area  of  an  average  Wisconsin  field 
invaded  by  rootrot  with  each  succeeding  crop  of  peas.  This  diagram  is 
so  similar  in  character  to  that  of  the  preceding  that  it  requires  no  added 
discussion. 

Influence  of  rotation. — Thus  far  in  this  discussion  of  the  rate  of  ap- 
pearance of  rootrot  all  the  fields  covered  in  the  survey  have  been  discussed 
without  regard  to  any  rotation  that  may  have  been  practiced.  This  is 
justified  by  the  fact  that  only  in  exceptional  cases  has  rotation  long 
enough  to  be  significant  been  recorded.  It  now  remains  to  examine  these 
exceptional  cases  to  determine  whether  they  give  any  indication  that  rota- 
tion in  any  form  delays  or  averts  the  appearance  of  the  disease.  From 
what  has  been  said  previously  regarding  the  recent  appreciation  of  the 


Percent 
of  Fields 

iuu 

75 

50 

25 

% 

1 2 3 < 

Number  of  Crops  of  Peas  Gro 

' 5 6 or 

. wore 

]WN  (1924-  INCLUDED) 

FIG.  7— RATE  OF  INCREASE  OF  ROOTROT  INFESTATION  IN  THE  AVERAGE 
WISCONSIN  PEA  FIELD  AS  INDICATED  IN  THE  1924  SURVEY 


necessity  for  rotation  in  pea  growing,  the  youth  of  a large  number  of 
the  canning  districts  covered,  and  the  lack  of  adequate  records  of  cropping 
history,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  number  of  significant  cases  found  in 
a single  year  is  too  few  to  form  the  basis  of  conclusions. 

By  way  of  comparison,  it  may  be  stated  that  only  three  fields  growing 
their  fourth  successive  crop  of  peas  were  found  disease-free,  while  two 
fields  which  had  been  cropped  in  essentially  a three-vear  rotation  were 
disease-free  in  their  sixth  crop.  Other  instances  of  three-year  rotation 
showed  convincingly,  however,  that  this  is  not  long  enough  under  other 
conditions  to  prevent  the  entry  of  disease  even  up  to  the  sixth  crop.  Only 
a few  instances  of  four  or  five-year  rotations  were  found,  and  these  were 
started  so  recently  that  they  give  no  indication  yet  of  their  effectiveness  over 
a long  period  of  time. 

The  extent  to  which  care  in  rotating  peas  is  avoiding  loss  from  rootrot 


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Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


13 


in  present  practice  may  best  be  illustrated  by  comparing  two  adjoining 
factory  districts  on  the  same  soil  types  and  comparable  in  every  respect. 
One  of  these  districts  operating  in  its  thirteenth  year  was  established  by  a 
company  which  had  previous  experience  with  the  disease,  and  which  had 
avoided  planting  peas  repeatedly.  In  this  district  only  three  fields  showed 
rootrot,  and  that  in  small  amount.  Two  of  these  three  fields  were  grow- 
ing their  third  crop  of  peas,  and  no  field  in  the  district  was  growing  more 
than  its  third  crop.  The  loss  was  negligible.  In  the  second  district, 
operating  in  its  twelfth  year,  repeated  planting  of  peas  on  the  same 
ground  had  not  been  avoided.  In  this  district  18  fields  were  found  with 
rootrot,  half  of  which  were  severely  infested  with  heavy  losses  in  five. 
All  of  these  five  fields  were  said  to  have  grown  many  crops  of  peas  be- 
fore, one  having  produced  at  least  seven  crops  in  ten  years. 

Relation  of  Rootrot  to  Soil  Type  and  Drainage 

Earlier  observations. — In  a previous  paper  (10)  some  scattered  observa- 
tions have  been  recorded  showing  that  in  different  localities  where  peas 
have  been  grown  intensively  in  a similar  manner,  there  is  great  difference 
in  the  time  which  has  elapsed  before  the  disease  has  made  its  appearance 
in  fields,  and  also  in  the  rate  of  its  spread  and  increase  in  destructiveness. 
These  differences  appeared  to  be  associated  with  differences  in  the  capacity 
of  soils  to  hold  water,  or  with  drainage  and  sub-irrigation.  For  instance, 
in  Wisconsin  the  Superior  red  clay  appeared  to  be  more  subject  to  severe 
injury  from  rootrot  than  contiguous  loams.  Some  sandy  soils  in  Maryland 
underlaid  by  impervious  clays  seemed  remarkably  favorable  for  the 
development  of  disease — an  observation  which  seems  to  be  supported  by 
more  recent  observations  by  Drechsler  (3).  In  irrigated  districts  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  States,  peas  on  soils  of  low  moisture-holding  capacity 
rarely  suffer  from  disease  unless  subirrigated,  though  on  some  of  them 
occasional  diseased  plants  can  be  found.  There  are  several  ways  in  which 
the  water  relations  of  soil  might  affect  the  development  of  disease  in  peas. 
The  most  apparent  of  these  is  the  favorable  environment  which  abundant 
water  in  the  soil  might  provide  for  the  semi-aquatic  parasite  causing  the 
disease.  If,  as  has  been  assumed  tentatively  in  this  paper,  the  fungus  is 
widely  distributed  in  soils,  it  may  be  originally  much  more  frequent  in  wet 
soils  than  in  those  which  do  not  retain  water. 

Studies  in  1924. — Whatever  cause  or  causes  give  rise  to  the  observed 
variation  in  the  behavior  of  rootrot,  it  was  clearly  of  great  importance  in 
this  survey  to  determine  to  what  extent  the  several  pea  growing  soils  of 
Wisconsin  do  affect  the  behavior  of  this  disease.  Any  differences  which 
might  be  found  would  not  only  affect  the  cropping  systems  which  must 
be  used  on  the  several  soils  to  avoid  disease,  but  might  affect  the  direction  of 
expansion  of  the  industry. 

The  method  of  classifying  soils  found  most  suitable  for  this  study  is 
that  provided  by  the  Wisconsin  Soil  Survey.  To  a considerable  extent, 
soil  types  as  distinguished  by  the  soil  survey  are  representative  of  a 
certain  degree  of  drainage.  Some  entire  series  are  characteristically  well 
drained.  Others  are  poorly  drained.  Within  each  soil  type  there  are, 
however,  many  relatively  minor,  but  still,  from  the  point  of  view  of  this 
study,  important  differences  in  drainage. 

Fields  of  uniform  soil  type. — In  the  course  of  the  survey,  peas  were 
examined  on  27  distinct  soil  types  besides  seven  groups  of  incompletely 
classified  soils,  making  in  all  34  groups  into  which  the  total  of  688  fields 
are  divided.  There  are,  therefore,  too  few  fields  in  many  of  these  groups 
to  afford  a satisfactory  basis  for  comparison.  A complete  summary  of  the 
data  obtained  is  given  in  Table  II. 

From  this  complete  table,  one  important  conclusion  can  be  drawn.  None 
of  the  soil  types  encountered  shows  any  promise  of  furnishing  an  environ- 


14 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  64 


ment  where  peas  may  be  grown  without  danger  from  rootrot.  Diseased 
fields  are  recorded  on  all  but  eight  of  the  types.  The  eight  exceptional 
types  are  represented  by  so  few  fields  that  the  absence  of  disease  in  the 
location  where  they  were  found  can  not  be  taken  as  evidence  that  they  are 
naturally  less  liable  to  disease  than  others.  For  instance,  of  the  fifteen 
fields  on  Superior  silt  loam,  only  three  were  growing  their  second  crop, 
and  these  were  in  a relatively  new  canning  district  in  situations  where 
disease  would  hardly  be  expected.  The  13  fields  on  Fox  silt  loam  were  in 
a district  producing  its  fifth  crop  of  peas  but  none  of  these  were  growing- 
more  than  its  third  crop.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  may  be  said  that  this 
soil  type  has  a more  promising  record  indicating  freedom  from  disease 
than  any  other. 

In  contrast  with  the  Fox  silt  loam,  the  soil  type  which  shows  the  most 
unfavorable  record  with  reference  to  rootrot  is  the  Colby  silt  loam.  Since 
only  20  fields  were  encountered  on  this  soil,  its  present  record  with  reference 
to  rootrot  should  not  be  regarded  as  convicting  it  of  being  the  most  favor- 
able soil  for  disease  in  the  state.  The  table  shows,  however,  that  of  the 
nine  fields  found  which  had  grown  one  or  more  crops  of  peas  previously, 
all  were  diseased  to  a greater  or  less  extent.  This  soil  is  characteristically 
compact  with  poor  internal  drainage  and  in  many  cases  with  faulty  sur- 
face drainage.  In  view  of  the  tendency  of  the  canning  industry  to  expand 
on  to  this  soil,  a more  comprehensive  examination  of  the  behavior  of  the 
crop  on  this  soil  should  be  made. 

The  two  leading  soil  types. — The  two  soil  types  upon  which  sufficient 
numbers  of  fields  were  found  for  adequate  comparison  are  Miami  silt 
loam  and  Carrington  silt  loam.  These  show  no  important  difference  in 
behavior  (Table  III).  The  Carrington  silt  loam  shows  a larger  percentage 
of  infested  fields,  but  a lower  percentage  of  fields  extensively  invaded. 
When  these  two  soils  are  compared  with  the  total  number  of  clay  loams  and 
clays  summarized  in  the  same  table,  it  appears  that  the  heavier  soils  show 
both  greater  percentages  of  total  fields  infested  and  of  fields  thoroughly 
infested.  Since  the  average  cropping  histories  of  the  fields  on  the  heavy 
soils  is  not  markedly  different  from  that  on  the  silt  loam,  the  comparison 
appears  to  demonstrate  a greater  tendency  for  rootrot  to  become  trouble- 
some on  the  heavy  soils. 

Table  III. — Comparison  of  Carrington  Silt  Loam  and  Miami  Silt 
Loam,  the  Two  Chief  Pea-Growing  Soils  of  Wisconsin,  With 
the  Total  Clay  Loams  and  Total  Clays  as  to  the  Percentage 
of  Fields  Found  Infested  With  Rootrot  and  the  Percentage 
of  Fields  Showing  Light,  Medium,  or  Heavy  Infestation. 


Soil 

Total 

fields 

Number 
of  fields 
with 
.rootrot 

Per  cent 
fields 
with 
rootrot 

Percentage  of  total 
fields 

(I 

Light 

nfestation 

Medium 

) 

Heavy 

Carrington  silt  loam  . . . 

180 

57 

32 

16 

6 

9 

Miami  silt  loam 

146 

37 

25 

8 

3 

12 

Total  clav  loams 

76 

33 

43 

17 

12 

14 

Total  clays 

51 

21 

41 

16 

8 

18 

Comparison  of  soil  classes. — In  an  attempt  to  condense  Table  II  in 
significant  manner  preserving  the  summarized  cropping  histories  of  fields, 
all  sands  and  sandy  loams  were  placed  in  one  group,  all  loams  and  silt 
loams  in  a second  group,  and  all  clays  and  clay  loams  in  a third.  Table  IV. 
prepared  in  this  way,  reveals  differences  in  behavior  between  the  medium 
light  and  the  heavy  soils.  In  the  group  of  clay  loams  and  clays  it  appears 
that  rootrot  makes  its  entry  more  promptly  and  spreads  through  the  field 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


15 


more  rapidly  than  in  the  silt  loams  and  loams.  All  fields  on  clays  and  clay 
loams  growing  their  fourth  crop  were  diseased,  while  29  per  cent  of  such 
fields  on  loams  and  silt  loams,  and  40  per  cent  on  sands  and  sandy  loams 
were  still  rootrot  free. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  to  condense  Table  II  by  grouping  together  all 
fields  in  the  same  soil  series.  The  groups  thus  formed  appear  to  be  too 
small  in  most  cases  for  satisfactory  comparison. 

Rootrot  in  uneven  fields. — The  comparison  of  the  behavior  of  soil 
types  presented  in  the  foregoing  tables  does  not  emphasize  differences  so 
much  as  examination  of  individual  fields  extending  over  two  or  more 
soil  types,  or  fields  not  uniform  in  drainage.  Fields  of  one  soil  type, 
with  poorly  drained  portions,  or  of  two  or  more  types  differing  in  tendency 
toward  wetness  were  found  in  almost  every  district.  In  such  fields,  as  a 
general  rule,  whatever  the  cause  of  the  wet  spots,  whether  lack  of  drainage, 
or  seepage,  or  the  texture  of  the  soil  enabling  it  to  hold  water,  rootrot 
appeared  to  have  entered  the  field  first  in  these  wet  spots.  Many  of  the 
apparent  exceptions  were  probably  due  to  accidental  introduction  of  the 
rootrot  fungus.  In  determining  the  presence  of  disease  on  very  wet 
ground,  microscopic  examination  was  frequently  used  to  distinguish  rootrot 
from  drowning  of  roots  from  standing  water.  These  general  field  observa- 
tions emphasize  more  than  do  the  tables  the  differences  between  soils  types, 
and  at  the  same  time  strengthen  the  suggestion  that  the  observed  differences 
between  heavy  and  light  soils  may  be  associated  fundamentally  with  the 
natural  wetness  of  such  soils. 


Relation  of  Soil  Reaction  and  Fertility  to  Rootrot 

No  special  study  of  the  relation  between  soil  acidity  or  fertility  and  the 
occurrence  and  destructiveness  of  rootrot  was  made  in  this  survey.  Neither 
in  previous  field  experience,  nor  in  that  gained  in  this  survey  has  it  been 
obvious  that  any  important  correlation  exists  between  these  field  condi- 
tions and  the  disease.  There  are,  to  be  sure,  a number  of  instances  cited 
among  growers  in  which  high  acidity  and  low  fertility  have  been  correlated 
with  destructive  occurrence  of  disease;  but  when  these  have  been  examined 
they  have  not  provided  convincing  evidence  that  correlation  with  either  of 
these  conditions  was  the  essential  factor  causing  loss.  On  the  other  hand, 
certain  canning  companies  have  attempted  to  render  diseased  land  suitable 
for  pea  growing  by  carefully  conducted  liming  and  manuring  experiments, 
but  have  failed  completely. 

Rootrot  in  First  Crop  of  Peas 

As  indicated  in  figures  5 and  6 a small  percentage  of  fields  was  found 
infested  in  what  appeared,  from  incomplete  cropping  records,  to  be  the 
first  crop  of  peas.  Many  of  these  had  probably  grown  some  unrecorded 
crops  earlier.  There  are,  however,  eleven  fields  in  which  adequate  records 
indicate  that  no  peas  have  been  grown  before,  and  in  which  rootrot  infesta- 
tion was  found  ranging  from  a mere  trace  up  to  100  per  cent  of 
the  field.  A number  of  these  fields  clearly  owed  their  infestation 
to  inoculation  from  neighboring  diseased  fields  in  the  following  manner : 
two  from  diseased  fields  on  the  same  farm  where  the  diseases  had  long 
been  established ; one  from  surface  drainage  from  an  adjoining  higher 
field ; one  from  an  old  barn  yard  included  in  the  field ; one  from  manuring 
with  uncured  vines  from  the  outside  of  a silage  stack ; and  one  with  root- 
rot along  the  roadside  from  passing  loads  of  pea  vines. 

The  other  five  fields  which  contained  rootrot  in  their  first  peas  were  all 
either  poorly  drained,  wet  soils,  or  contained  the  disease  only  in  wet  pockets. 
In  addition  to  these  there  were  a number  of  fields  observed  diseased  in 


Table  IV. — Relation  of  Rootrot  to  Cropping  on  Light,  Medium,  and  Heavy  Soils.  Numbers  of  Fields  in  Roman  Type 
Percentages  in  Italics. 


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Light  infestation,  1-25%;  medium  infestation,  26-75%:  heavy  infestation,  76-100%,  oi  the  area  of  the  field. 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


17 


their  second  crop  which  were  said  to  have  been  diseased  in  their  first.  In 
these,  as  in  the  preceeding  cases,  the  disease  was  mostly  in  wet  soil.  If 
Aphanomyces  euteiches,  occuring  native  in  Wisconsin,  was  the  source  of 
infestation  in  these  fields,  it  appears  that  it  was  originally  restricted  to 
wet  locations. 

Persistence  of  the  Parasite  in  the  Soil 

Once  peas  have  failed  from  rootrot  and  their  decaying  roots  have 
released  into  the  soil  myriads  of  thick  walled  oospores,  the  parasite  is 
able  to  persist  for  a remarkably  long  time.  In  a previous  paper  (10) 
instances  were  cited  in  which  peas  had  failed  from  rootrot  when  planted 
on  a field  in  which  peas  had  failed  six  years  earlier.  Certain  canners  have 
reported  experiences  which  indicate  a survival  of  the  parasite  for  a still 
longer  period. 

During  1924  a number  of  well  attested  cases  were  encountered  in  which 
peas  were  growing  on  fields  in  which  the  last  previous  crop  had  “blighted” 
presumably  from  rootrot  from  one  to  ten  or  more  years  earlier.  Assuming 
that  in  all  of  these  cases  rootrot  was  the  cause  of  the  earlier  blight — an 
assumption  which  is  undoubtedly  true  in  nearly  all  of  the  cases — these 
fields  have  been  classified  in  Table  V.  on  the  basis  of  the  number  of  years 
that  have  elapsed  between  the  previous  blighted  crop  and  1924.  The  fifteen 
fields  on  which  peas  had  blighted  within  ten  years  were  found  to  contain 
more  or  less  rootrot,  the  majority  of  them  being  still  heavily  infested.  Of 
nine  fields  blighted  more  than  ten  years  ago,  only  three  were  still  thoroughly 
infested,  while  five  were,  as  nearly  as  could  be  ascertained  by  careful  search 
in  the  field,  entirely  free  from  the  disease.  This  indicates  that  rootrot 
infestation  does  actually  tend  to  diminish  gradually  with  time,  but  the  length 
of  time  required  to  free  contaminated  soil  is  discouragingly  long.  It 
appears  unsafe  to  reliant  peas  on  infested  soil  within  a decade. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  added  that  field  observation  seems  to 
indicate  that  the  disease  persists  longer  in  heavy  wet  soils  than  in  soils 
less  favorable  for  the  advent  of  the  disease  in  the  first  place.  This  rela- 
tion is  not  obvious  from  the  table,  however,  and  requires  more  careful 
records  for  its  confirmation. 

Resistant  Varieties  and  Date  of  Planting  in  Relation  to  Injury 

from  Rootrot 

Although  it  has  been  shown  in  experimental  trials  that  no  variety  of  peas 
is  completely  immune  to  rootrot,  and  that  among  the  usual  commercial 
varieties  there  is  little  difference  in  resistance,  as  measured  in  experimental 
trials,  nevertheless  search  was  made  for  evidence  indicating  that  the 
slight  differences  between  varieties  is  of  any  importance  in  averting  loss 
on  infested  soil.  The  most  resistant  varieties  that  have  been  found,  the 
Horal  and  Rice’s  No.  330,  did  not  occur  in  surveyed  fields.  It  may  be 
added,  however,  that  in  a trial  conducted  by  the  Columbus  Canning  Company 
in  cooperation  with  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  during  the  summer 
these  two  varieties  showed  far  greater  resistance  than  has  been  shown  by 
any  commercial  variety  in  general  use. 

A study  of  the  resistance  in  commercial  plantings  is  greatly  complicated 
by  the  fact  that  the  date  of  planting  is  a factor  to  be  considered  when 
comparing  the  damage  sustained  by  different  fields.  For  instance,  the 
record  shows  that  there  was  a slightly  smaller  percentage  of  fields  of 
Alaskas  and  Winners  diseased  and  that  they  seemed  on  the  wliole  to 
suffer  smaller  crop  losses  than  other  varieties.  However,  the  peak  of 
the  planting  season  of  these  two  early  varieties  was  from  threie ; to 


18 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  64 


four  weeks  in  advance  of  that  of  the  sweet  varieties,  a fact  which 
undoubtedly  accounts  in  large  part,  if  not  completely,  for  their  lighter 
damage.  Thus  a comparison  of  a few  selected  fields  furnishes  more  reliable 
evidence  of  varietal  resistance  than  a comparison  of  the  records  of  varieties 
as  a whole. 

From  a comparison  of  suitable  fields  it  appears  that  the  Green  Admiral 
alone  showed  appreciable  resistance.  One  of  the  older  companies  operating 
in  an  infested  district  plants  Admirals  on  all  fields  suspected  of  harboring 
disease.  On  one  farm  in  this  district,  a uniform  18  acre  field  of  thoroughly 

Table  V. — -Persistence  of  the  Rootrot  Fungus  in  the  Soil.  Fields 
Which  Are  Known  to  Have  Grown  “Blighted”  Peas  Arranged 
According  to  the  Period  of  Years  Since  Peas  Were  Grown 
Last  and  According  to  the  Degree  of  Infestation  Found  in 
1924. 


Interval  since  “blighted”  peas 


• 

1- 

P 

c 

o 

Z 

2i 

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OC 

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Carrington  silt  loam 

1 

1 

Miami  silt  loam 

3 

3 

2 

Colby  silt  loam 

1 

Wabash  silt  loam 

.2 

Unclassified  loam 

1 

Red  clay  loam  

1 

T 

Clay  loam  . 

Superior  fine  sandy  loam 

1 

1 

Sandy  loam  

2 

U nclassified 

2 

2 

Total  

1 

3 

2 

5 

2 

2 

5 

1 

3 

infested  Miami  silt  loam  was  planted  to  Alaskas  and  Admirals  on  the  same 
day.  When  first  observed  on  June  30  both  varieties  were  thoroughly 
infested  to  the  extent  of  about  90  per  cent  of  all  of  the  plants.  The 
Alaskas  were  beginning  to  die,  but  the  Admirals  showed  no  evidence  of 
injury  above  ground.  On  July  22,  the  Admirals  were  ready  to  harvest.  The 
vines  were  short,  pods  poorly  filled,  and  leaves  dead  on  the  lower  half  of 
the  vines.  However,  the  six  acres  of  Alaskas  yielded  166  pounds  of  peas 
per  acre,  while  the  Admirals  produced  2,111  pounds  per  acre,  though 
quality  was  not  of  the  best.  Here,  the  Admiral  seemed  to  demonstrate 
marked  resistance. 

In  another  similar  field  suitable  for  comparison  the  same  varieties  were 
planted  on  different  dates — the  Alaskas  on  April  11,  and  the  Admirals  11 
days  later.  On  June  30  the  root  destruction  had  advanced  far  in  both  cases. 
The  Alaskas  were  filling  pods,  though  about  25  per  cent  of  the  plants 
were  almost  dead,  while  the  Admirals  were  but  12  inches  tall  appearing 
perfectly  healthy.  Alaskas  yielded  1,800  pounds  per  acre  while  Admirals 
yielded  1,035  pounds.  The  low  yield  of  the  Admirals  in  this  case  appears 
to  be  due  to  the  later  date  at  which  they  were  planted,  permitting  the 
disease  to  attack  them  at  an  earlier  stage  of  development. 

A number  of  other  less  closely  comparable  instances  add  evidence  in 
favor  of  the  view  that  under  certain  conditions  the  Green  Admiral  pea 
has  some  degree  of  resistance,  enabling  it  to  produce  a fair  yield  under 
conditions  which  damage  other  varieties  much  more  severely.  Until  the 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


19 


newer  resistant  varieties  become  available  the  Green  Admiral  appears  to  be 
the  only  pea  showing  a sufficient  degree  of  resistance  to  warrant  its  use 
on  infested  soil,  although  this  variety  may  fail  utterly  under  severe  condi- 
tions of  disease. 


The  Control  of  Rootrot 

The  findings  of  this  survey  suggest  very  clearly  the  control  measure 
which  must  be  employed  to  avoid  rootrot— control  measures  which  have 
been  for  the  most  part  stated  previously.  In  districts  where  pea  culture  on 
a large  scale  has  been  introduced  recently  and  where  there  are  few 
diseased  fields  already  established,  increase  in  disease  can  be  avoided 
readily.  First,  poorly  drained  soil  should  be  avoided  for  pea  planting.  The 
adoption  of  a long  rotation  on  suitable  soil  should  defer  the  appearance 
of  disease  for  many  years,  perhaps  indefinitely.  The  length  of  rotation  re- 
quired to  prevent  serious  development  of  the  disease  appears  to  be  dependent 
to  some  degree  on  the  soil  type,  being  longer  on  clay  soils  than  on  loams. 
A rotation  of  five  or  six  years  duration  is  suggested  as  probably  adequate 
on  most  Wisconsin  soils.  If  it  appears  advisable  for  commercial  reasons 
to  plant  peas  as  long  as  possible  on  the  same  ground,  the  field  records 
collected  here  show  that  under  average  conditions  it  is  possible  to  do  this 
for  three  years  before  serious  loss  from  rootrot  need  be  anticipated. 
Occasionally  they  may  be  planted  for  a longer  term  of  years.  Generally, 
the  disease  appears  in  such  fields  for  one  or  two  years  before  it  becomes 
destructive ; and  thus  a car-eful  examination  of  fields  for  disease  can 
readily  determine  when  such  fields  have  become  unsafe  for  further  planting. 
No  serious  loss  from  disease  need  be  incurred  from  such  practice  if  in- 
telligent supervision  is  employed. 

In  districts  where  the  disease  is  already  well  established  avoidance  of 
disease  is  not  so  easily  accomplished.  Fields  in  which  peas  have  failed  from 
rootrot  are  not  safe  for  replanting  for  ten  years  after  the  failure  on  most 
soil  types.  Soil  from  such  fields  can  serve  to  carry  disease  to  other 
fields  during  this  period  of  time,  and  thus  much  new  land  that  has  never 
grown  peas  in  infested  districts  is  unsafe  for  peas.  Since  it  will  be 
impossible  in  most  cases  to  determine  in  advance  just  where  such  injured 
areas  are,  it  will  be  impossible  to  avoid  loss  in  all  cases,  even  where  a 
suitable  rotation  is  adopted.  As  soon  as  infested  tracts  are  located,  they 
must  be  abandoned  for  pea  culture.  Transfer  of  soil  from  diseased  fields 
should  be  avoided.  Uncured  silage  from  pea  vines  should  never  be  fed  or 
returned  to  fields  as  manure. 

The  use  of  resistant  varieties  of  peas  may  become  profitable  on  infested 
soils  under  some  conditions.  Such  varieties  should  be  planted  as  early 
as  possible.  Under  conditions  favorable  for  the  development  of  the 
disease  even  the  most  resistant  varieties  known  at  present  may  be  damaged 
greatly,  and  in  any  case  their  growth  increases  soil  infestation  quite  as 
much  as  those  varieties  which  are  readily  destroyed. 


LESS  IMPORTANT  PEA  DISEASES 
Fusarium  Stem  and  Rootrot 


A stem  and  rootrot  of  peas  caused  by  Fusarium  martii  App.  & Wr.  var. 
pisi  F.  R.  Jones  has  been  described  (8)  as  occurring  in  Wisconsin  and 
several  other  states.  This  Fusarium  which  was  the  only  important  parasite 
among  several  species  and  varieties  tested  produced  typically  its  initial  and 
most  significant  invasion  at  the  base  of  the  stem  at  or  immediately  above  the 
point  of  attachment  of  the  cotyledons.  The  resultant  lesion  becomes  elongate. 


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Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  64 


extending  up  the  stem  as  a wedge-shaped,  dark  brown  or  chocolate  colored 
lesion,  not  appreciably  shrunken  until  well  advanced.  This  cortical  rot 
may  deepen  and  pentrate  or  even  sever  the  vascular  cylinder,  after  which, 
at  higher  soil  temperatures  the  fungus  invades  the  xylem  for  a short 
distance,  producing  a bright  orange  red  or  brown  discoloration  which  may 
extend  as  far  as  the  first  node.  Extensive  vascular  invasion  is  not  a 
characteristic  development.  Rootlets  may  be  attacked,  in  which  case  the 
symptoms  are  not  visually  distinct  from  the  effects  of  several  minor 
parasites. 

When  this  disease  occurs  alone  as  a stemrot  it  has  been  considered  to  be 
of  easily  recognized  character.  It  has,  however,  almost  always  been  found 
in  association  with  rootrot  where  its  presence  rarely  can  be  discovered 
except  by  the  isolation  of  . the  fungus.  In  the  course  of  the  survey  only  a 
few  instances  of  the  type  of  stemrot  caused  by  Fusarium  were  discovered, 
and  in  all  of  these  cases  laboratory  study  showed  the  cause  to  be  a phoma- 
like  fungus  which  is  mentioned  below.  Thus  it  appears  that  the 
Fusarium  stem  and  rootrot  of  peas  did  not  occur  in  Wisconsin  this  year 
as  an  independently  recognizable  disease.  Laboratory  study  was  not  made 
to  determine  whether  it  occurred  in  association  with  rootrot. 

The  absence  of  this  disease  this  year  may  not  have  been  due  to  the 
absence  of  the  parasite.  A study  of  conditions  which  make  possible  the 
development  of  this  disease  has  shown  that  a mean  soil  temperature  of  18°  C. 
is  necessary  before  conspicuous  lesions  on  stems  appear,  and  that  a soil 
temperature  of  approximately  24°  must  be  reached  before  plants  are 
killed  or  conspicuously  injured.  Reference  to  the  record  of  soil  temperature 
prevailing  this  year  discussed  previously  will  show  at  once  that  this 
disease  must  have  been  delayed  in  development  even  more  than  rootrot, 
and  that  there  was  little  opportunity  for  it  to  become  destructive.  Thus 
it  is  possible  that  in  a warmer  season  this  disease  may  appear  again, 
though  its  seems  unlikely  that  it  will  be  important  under  Wisconsin  condi- 
tions apart  from  its  association  with  rootrot. 

Footrot,  a Disease  Resembling  Fusarium  Stem  and  Rootrot 

Early  in  June,  1924,  before  soil  temperatures  were  favorable  to  the 
independent  parasitism  of  Fusarium  martii  pisi,  plants  were  found  showing 
lesions  typical  of  Fusarium  stem  and  rootrot.  Such  lesions,  when  plated 
out,  yielded  cultures,  not  of  Fusarium,  but  of  a Phoma  or  phoma-like 
fungus  which  the  senior  author  has  isolated  from  pea  root  and 
stem  lesions  many  times  before.  Inoculation  experiments  in  the  greenhouse 
have  demonstrated  that  this  fungus  is  capable  of  producing  lesions,  which 
resemble  very  closely  those  produced  by  Fusarium. 

Haenseler  (5)  has  reported  frequent  isolations  of  Phoma  species  from 
peas  in  New  Jersey.  Footrot  symptoms  were  encountered  widely  but 
sparingly  in  Wisconsin  in  1924.  Probably  the  disease  will  not  prove  of 
great  importance. 

Seedling  Injury  Caused  by  Rhizoctonia 

The  sterile  or.  Rhizoctonia  stage  of  Corticium  vagum  B.  & C.  is  another 
fungus  capable  of  damaging  the  underground  portions  of  the  pea  plant.  Of 
wide  occurrence  in  cultivated  soils,  this  fungus  is  frequently  encountered 
in  pea  fields  where  under  some  conditions  it  may  assume  considerable 
importance.  Generally,  however,  it  is  of  minor  importance  as  a parasite  of 
peas. 

Rhizoctonia  may  attack  any  underground  portion  of  the  pea  plant,  but  it 
causes  greatest  injury  when  invading  very  young  tissues.  It  may  enter 
germinating  seeds  killing  the  embro  or  destroying  the  cotyledons, 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


21 


removing  the  food  reserve  of  the  developing  seedling.  It  may  attack 
seedlings  before  emergence  from  the  soil,  injuring  or  completely  destroying 
the  growing  points  of  roots  and  stem.  When  the  stem  tip  is  thus  destroyed 
the  pea  frequently  produces  secondary  shoots,  one  or  more  of  which  may 
escape  similar  destruction.  Root  tip  injury  may  continue  even  after  the 
plant  is  well  established.  This  fungus  may  also  produce  lateral  lesions  on 
stems  and  roots  of  a type  characteristic  of  this  fungus  on  other  hosts, 
being  brownish,  sunken  and  eroded,  oval  or  oblong  cankers.  Coarse  brown 
hyphae  of  the  fungus  frequently  found  on  and  around  such  lesions  are 
helpful  in  diagnosis,  but  in  general  the  injury  caused  by  this  fungus,  par- 
ticularly upon  roots,  is  not  always  readily  distinguished  under  field  condi- 
tions from  that  of  some  other  parasites. 

Richards  (13)  has  shown  that  the  soil  temperature  most  favoring  the 
parasitism  of  Rhizoctonia  on  the  pea  is  18  °C.,  but  that  it  is  able  to  operate 
in  a less  important  way  through  a wide  range  of  temperatures,  beginning 
as  low  as  9°  and  continuing  up  to  29°.  The  minimum  temperature  is 
thus  below  that  of  the  major  pea  root  parasites,  and  consequently 
Rhizoctonia  injury  occurs  earlier  than  the  more  important  root  diseases. 
Late  planted  peas  suffer  greater  injury  than  those  planted  early  in  cold 
soil. 

In  the  1924  survey,  it  was  not  possible  in  all  cases  to  distinguish  the 
injury  produced  by  Rhizoctonia  under  field  conditions.  Injury  attributed 
to  this  fungus  was  noted  in  35  fields  ranging  from  the  killing  of  30  per 
cent  of  the  plants  in  rare  cases  to  reductions  of  stand  that  were  negligible, 
and  from  reduction  c 1 vigor  that  would  amount  to  25  per  cent  of  the 
crop  to  that  which  would  escape  detection. 

Rhizoctonia  injury  was  noted  on  soils  ranging  from  light  sandy  loams 
to  muckv  clay  loams,  but  the  greater  reductions  of  stand  and  vigor  were 
limited  to  a few  fields  of  sandy  loams,  Carrington  silt  loam  and  Miami 
silt  loam. 

Seedling  and  Root  Injury  Caused  by  Species  of  Pythium 

When  pea  plants  suffering  from  rootrot  are  examined  in  the  laboratory, 
the  species  of  Pythium  .'ong  known  as  a destructive  seedling  parasite  will 
often  be  found  present  in  the  diseased  tissue  of  many  or  all  of  the  plants. 
Inoculation  with  some  of  the  cultures  of  Pythium  obtained  in  this  way  has 
shown  that  the  fungus  is  capable  of  preventing  germination  of  pea  seed  or 
of  destroying  many  of  the  seedlings  before  they  emerge  from  the  ground, 
and  occasionally  some  degiee  of  stem  and  rootrot  is  produced.  Some 
preliminary  work  with  this  fungus  earlier  led  the  senior  author  (6)  to 
express  the  opinion  that  it  was  the  most  important  cause  of  pea  rootrot — 
ail  opinion  which  was  not  substantiated  by  further  work,  and  which  has 
since  been  corrected  (10).  However,  more  recently  Stone  (16)  in  Ontario 
has  called  attention  to  the  association  of  Pythium  with  disease,  ascribing 
to  it  a rotting  of  pea  plants  near  the  surface  of  the  soil. 

Some  attention  has  been  given  to  Pythium  species  in  relation  to  pea  dis- 
ease during  several  years  and  though  the  study  of  the  relation  of  species 
of  this  genus  to  root  injury  is  far  from  complete,  a few  notes  on  the 
progress  of  the  work  may  be  presented.  Although  it  will  be  shown  in 
the  following  tables  that  species  of  Pythium  capable  of  causing  severe 
seedling  injury  under  favoring  conditions  are  present  in  adundance  in  some 
agricultural  soils,  yet  the  survey  records  no  instance  of  important  injury 
from  these  species.  The  most  obvious  explanation  fur  the  failure  of 
this  group  of  fungi  to  produce  injury  is  found  in  the  comparatively 
high  soil  temperature  required  for  their  activity.  An  incomplete  study 
of  the  more  actively  parasitic  species  indicates  that  a soil  temperature 
of  16 °C.  is  necessary  before  much  seedling  injury  occurs.  Most  peas 
have  passed  the  stage  at  which  seedling  injury  is  possible  before  the 
mean  soil  temperature  has  reached  this  point. 


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Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  64 


The  study  of  the  relation  of  Pythium  to  root  and  stemrot  has  been 
greatly  retarded  by  the  fact  that  the  cultures  obtained  from  peas  in  the 
field  have  been  found  to  belong  to  several  species  differing  somewhat  in 
pathogenicity  and  frequency  of  occurrence ; and  furthermore  it  is  not  at 
all  certain  that  present  methods  used  in  making  isolations  from  plants 
secure  cultures  of  all  species  present.  Thus  a vast  deal  of  work  will  be 
required  before  the  relation  of  Pythium  species  to  stem  and  root  injury 
of  mature  plants  will  be  fully  known.  It  may  be  stated,  however,  that 
inoculations  made  under  controlled  conditions  have  shown  very  slight 
ability  in  any  species  studied  thus  far  to  produce  either  stem  or  rootrot 
under  -usual  field  conditions. 

During  the  summer,  isolations  were  frequently  made  to  secure  cultures  of 
any  species  of  Pythium  that  might  be  present.  Since  previous  experience 
had  shewn  that  seme  species  arc  almost  as  frequently  found  in  association 
with  ,*oots  apparently  healthy  as  with  those  diseased,  cultures  wcie  made 
from  both.  In  making  cultures,  no  sterilizing  agents  were  applied  to  the 
surface  of  decaying  tissue  because  they  penetrate  rapidly  and  destroy  all 
Phycomycetous  mycelium  quickly.  Thus  mycelium  adhering  to  the  outside 
of  roots  may  give  rise  to  a culture,  a difficulty  which  can  hardly  be  avoided. 
The  results  of  76  isolations  are  summarized  in  Table  VI.  This  table  cor- 
roborates previous  experience  that  cultures  of  Pythium  are  obtained  with 
approximately  the  same  frequency  from  healthy  as  from  diseased  plants. 
It  also  shows  that  in  about  one-third  of  the  isolations  two  species  were 
obtained,  though  in  such  cases  no  two  species  seem  to  be  found  more 
frequently  associated  than  others. 

The  cultures  obtained  in  this  way  have  been  partially  classified  into 
species  groups  which  are  designated  by  letter  in  Table  VII.  Species  A, 
B,  D,  and  perhaps  E,  seem  to  have  been  included  by  pathologists  under 
the  name  Pythium  debaryanum ; and  this  group  contains  the  more  aggressive 
parasites.  From  this  table  it  appears  that  the  several  species  were  obtained 
with  approximately  the  same  frequency  from  healthy  plants  as  from  those 
showing  disease.  In  fact  a small  number  of  isolations  from  clover  roots 
made  at  the  same  time  with  those  from  peas  have  given  equal  success  in 
obtaining  cultures  of  Pythium,  the  frequency  of  occurrence  of  the  several 
species  being  somewhat  different. 

From  the  observations  made  thus  far  it  appears  that  some  of  these 
species  of  Pythium  occurring  abundantly  in  the  soil  may  at  times  be 
responsible  for  the  death  of  root  ends,  and  for  some  rootlet  injury;  but 
only  rarely  for  root  and  stemrot  as  it  is  usually  known.  It  is  possible  that 
almost  universal  invasion  of  the  root  cortex  of  peas  and  clover  by  a 
mycorrhizal  fungus  (9)  renders  this  tissue  especially  accessible  to  these 
species,  and  that  it  is  from  this  superficial  invasion  that  the  fungus  is  most 
frequently  obtained  in  culture. 


Table  VI. — Frequency  of  Occurrence  of  One  or  More  Species  of 
Pythium  in  Isolations  from  Healthy  and  from  Decaying  Pea 
Roots  and  Stems. 


No  culture 
of  Pythium 
obtained 

1 species 
of  Pythium 
obtained 

2 species 
of  Pythium 
obtained 

Healthv  pea  roots.  . . 

10 

22 

14 

Decaving  pea  roots  and  stems 

6 

16 

8 

An  Undescribed  Wilt  Disease 

During  the  survey  a disease  was  observed  which  in  its  effects  upon  the 
vines  superficially  resembles  rootrot  injury,  but  .which  seems  etiologically 
distinct  from  any  of  the  known  pea  diseases  in  Wisconsin.  It  was  character- 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


23 


ized  generally  by  rapid  and  complete  withering  of  the  vine  without 
conspicuous  rotting  or  discoloration  of  the  cortex  of  roots  and  basal  stem 
such  as  are  typical  of  the  better  known  diseases.  Root  tip  injury  was 
frequently  found  associated  with  it  but  not  to  a sufficient  extent  to  account 
for  the  death  of  the  plants. 

Fifty  fields  were  encountered  in  which  what  appeared  to  be  this 
disease  was  present.  Infestation  varied  from  small  patches  to  100  per  cent 
of  the  field ; in  the  latter  case  crop  destruction,  especially  of  the  sweet 
varieties  of  peas,  was  almost  complete.  In  several  factory  districts  this 


Table  VII. — Frequency  of  Occurrence  of  Several  Species  of 
Pythium  in  Healthy  and  Diseased  Pea  Roots  as  Represented 
by  Isolation. 


Spe- 

Spe- 

Spe- 

Species 

Unclas- 

cies A 

cies  B 

cies  C 

D and  E 

sified 

Healthy  pea  roots 

6 

20 

4 

14 

6 

Decaying  pea  roots  and  stems  . . . 

3 

9 

2 

11 

7 

disease  caused  greater  losses  than  did  rootrot,  and  in  the  total 
area  surveyed  it  ranked  second  in  destructiveness  only  to  the  disease  caused 
by  Aphanomyces. 

Slightly  over  half  of  the  infested  fields  lay  in  Fond  du  Lac  County, 
and  nearly  all  of  the  remainder  were  in  adjoining  counties.  Three- 
fourth  of  all  such  fields  were  on  black  soils  of  which  Carrington  silt 
loam  was  dominant. 

This  disease  appears  to  be  correlated  with  the  previous  growth  of  peas, 
much  the  same  as  is  rootrot. 


Leaf  and  Podspot  or  “Blight”  Caused  by  Ascochyta 

The  most  widely  known  of  the  foliage  diseases  of  peas  is  the  leaf  and 
podspot  caused  by  Ascochyta  pisi  Lib.,  the  conidial  stage  of  MycospJiaerella 
pinodes  (Berk.  & Blox.)  Stone.  So  abundant  and  important  was  this 
disease  in  Wisconsin  in  1911  and  following  years  that  it  was  regarded  as 
the  chief  cause  of  “blight”  of  peas.  Recommendations  made  for  its  control 
assisted  perhaps  by  climatic  conditions  during  the  past  few  years  have 
brought  about  its  almost  complete  disappearance. 

This  fungus  attacks  all  varieties  of  canning  peas,  and  occurs  on  vetches. 
On  pods,  the  lesions  are  rounded,  somewhat  sunken,  light  brown  at  first 
becoming  darker  with  a light  brown  border,  and  with  brown  pycnidia  in 
the  center.  On  leaves  the  lesions  are  irregularly  rounded  with  yellowish 
brown  or  ash}'  centers  and  dark  borders.  On  stems  the  lesions  are 
elongate.  If  lesions  are  abundant  they  may  become  confluent  killing  a 
large  part  of  the  foliage,  or  even  the  entire  plant.  Lesions  near  the 
surface  of  the  ground  may  spread  over  a considerable  portion  of  the  under- 
ground stem,  which  in  the  past  has  given  rise  to  the  impression  that  this 
fungus  was  the  cause  of  much  of  the  injury  to  roots  that  has  later  been 
found  due  to  Aphanomyces. 

It  has  been  demonstrated  by  Stone  (15)  and  Vaugham  (17)  that  this 
fungus  lives  over  winter  on  diseased  vines  producing  the  ascigerous  stage 
in  the  spring  from  the  spores  of  which  plants  may  be  infected.  The 
fungus  has  long  been  known  to  be  carried  in  the  seed.  Several  years  ago 
when  this  fungus  was  very  abundant  the  senior  writer  found  nearly  10 
per  cent  of  peas  in  one  sample  of  commercial  seed  carrying  this 
fungus,  though  among  many  samples  examined,  only  a few  were  found 
to  contain  infected  peas.  The  fungus  usually  enters  the  seed  coat  and 


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Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  64 


cotyledons  close  to  the  plumule.  When  the  seed  germinates,  the  ends  of 
the  embryonic  leaves  in  the  plumule  become  invaded  by  the  fungus.  When 
the  leaves  are  carried  above  ground  and  expand,  the  fungus  carried  in 
them  produces  lesions  promptly,  usually  at  the  margins  of  these  leaves. 
Pycnidia  are  soon  formed,  the  spores  are  scattered  over  the  foliage  of 
other  young  plants  by  splashing  rains,  and  the  disease  spreads  from 
such  centers  of  infection.  Since  the  fungus  penetrates  deeply  in  the  seed,  no 
method  of  seed  treatment  thus  far  tried  has  been  able  to  destroy  it  without 
damaging  the  seed. 

Leaf  and  pod  spot  caused  by  Ascochyta  was  of  no  importance  in  Wis- 
consin in  1924.  Only  18  fields  situated  in  12  different  districts  were  found 
to  contain  traces  of  the  disease,  and  none  of  these  were  appreciably  in- 
jured. The  disease  was  first  observed  as  early  as  June  2 where  it  was 
developing  apparently  from  infected  seed  on  plants  only  five  inches  tall. 
The  disease  was  not  found  again  until  July  15.  Its  frequency  of  occurrence 
seemed  to  increase  up  to  the  end  of  the  season,  but  no  factory  district 
was  observed  to  contain  more  than  three  fields  which  showed  traces  of 
infection. 


Leafblotch  Caused  by  Septoria 

Leafblotch  of  peas  caused  by  Septoria  pisi  West  is  frequently  associated 
with  and  confused  with  the  leaf  and  podspot  caused  by  Ascochyta.  This 
disease  was  formerly  considered  an  important  factor  in  pea  “blight.’’ 
Melhus  has  shown  (12)  that  it  is  rarely  difficult  to  distinguish  these  two 
diseases  except  perhaps  in  their  later  stages.  The  disease  caused  by 
Septoria  is  typically  a blotch  rather  than  a spot.  Its  margins  are  irregular, 
sometimes  angular  when  restricted  by  the  larger  veins  of  the  leaf,  and 
without  any  distinct  marginal  band.  They  are  yellowish  green  at  first, 
turning  brown  upon  the  death  of  the  tissue.  Such  blotches  increase  in 
size  indefinitely,  sometimes  extending  down  the  petiole  and  infecting  the 
stem.  Infected  tissues  produce  numerous  pycnidia,  yellowish  brown  at  first, 
becoming  darker  with  maturity. 

The  overwintering  of  the  fungus  has  never  been  traced  in  a satisfactory 
manner,  Melhus  found  the  pycnospore  short-lived  and  found  no  seed 
infection.  The  senior  writer,  however,  found  one  collection  of  this  fungus, 
kept  in  a sheltered  location  out  of  doors,  that  maintained  viable  pycnospores 
for  at  least  a year.  Seed  infection  is  not  infrequent.  Infection  usually 
occurs  at  the  hilum  which  exhibits  a very  characteristics  pink  discoloration, 
involving  more  or  less  surrounding  area.  Although  the  fungus  can  be 
isolated  readily  from  such  seeds,  no  infested  seedings  have  yet  been 
observed  from  their  germination. 

In  1924,  Septoria  leafblotch  was  more  abundant  than  leaf  and  podspot. 
but  still  was  of  very  little  importance  in  the  state  as  a whole.  It  was 
observed  first  June  6,  and  was  collected  at  intervals  during  the  summer 
without  showing  any  marked  increase  with  late  summer  rains.  It  was 
observed  in  only  29  fields  in  twelve  districts.  Most  of  these  fields  contained 
no  more  than  a trace,  while  a few  were  damaged  to  the  extent  of  about 
10  per  cent.  Septoria  was  most  prevalent  in  the  northern  districts,  all 
of  the  heavily  infested  fields  being  situated  north  of  the  latitude  of  the 
north  end  of  Lake  Winnebago. 

A Septoria  Leafspot  New  to  Wisconsin 

In  one  field  in  Dodge  County  was  found  an  unfamiliar  leafspot  caused 
by  a fungus  identified  by  Dr.  J.  J.  Davis  as  Septoria  flagellifera  E.  & E. 
Both  the  spots  and  the  pycnospores  of  the  fungus  are  distinct  from  those 
of  Septoria  pisi.  Ellis  and  Everhart  (4,  p.  57)  have  described  the  spots 
and  the  fungus  from  material  gathered  in  South  Dakota  as  follows : 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


25 


“Amphigenous,  spots  suborbicular,  0.25-1  cm.,  diameter,  subzonate,  with  a slightly 
raised  border,  rusty-brown  at  first,  whitening  out  in  the  center:  perithecia  hemispheric 
— prominent  or  subconical,  dark  amber  color,  75-124  microns  in  diameter,  sporules 
filiform,  hyaline,  nucleolate,  only  slightly  curved,  80-120  x 2-2.5  microns. 

“Differs  from  S.  pisi  West,  in  the  different  character  of  the  spots  and  the  much 
longer  sporules.” 


This  fungus  occurred  sparsely  in  the  one  field  where  noted  and  showed 
no  evidence  of  possible  importance  as  a parasite. 

Anthracnose 

The  anthracnose  of  peas  caused  by  Colletotrichum  pisi  Pat.  was  recently 
described  in  Wisconsin  by  Jones  and  Vaughan  (7).  This  disease  closely 
resembles  that  caused  by  Ascochyta  and  may  easily  be  confused  with  it  in 
casual  examination.  Occurring  on  all  aerial  parts  of  the  plant,  it  produces 
lesions  that  on  pods  are  circular  and  sunken ; on  leaves,  irregular  in  out- 
line ; and  on  stems,  elongate.  These  spots  are  generally  brownish  with  some- 
what darker  brown  borders.  Stem  lesions  when  covered  with  spores  from 
the  numerous  acervuli  are  ashen  when  dry,  and  copper  colored  when  wet. 
In  later  stages,  small  black  sclerotial  bodies,  which  are  helpful  in  identify- 
ing the  disease,  develop  in  the  lesions.  The  life  history  of  the  fungus  has 
not  been  followed  through  the  winter ; although  the  fungus  attacks  pods 
freely,  it  has  not  been  observed  on  the  seed. 

Pea  anthracnose  has  been  reported  in  the  United  States  only  from  Wis- 
consin thus  far.  Although  recognized  as  a destructive  parasite,  its  distribu- 
tion has  been  considered  so  limited  that  its  importance  in  the  state  as  a 
whole  was  minor. 

In  1924,  both  in  severity  of  the  disease  in  individual  fields  and  in  the 
total  injury  observed  during  the  survey,  anthracnose  was  far  more  import- 
ant than  any  other  foliage  disease.  It  was  found  in  42  fields  in  13 
districts  lying  in  6 counties.  The  majority  of  these  fields  were  infected 
very  lightly  or  were  infected  so  late  in  the  development  of  the  crop  that 
injury  was  slight,  but  there  were  a number  of  fields  in  which  losses  were 
severe,  amounting  to  as  much  as  50  per  cent  of  the  crop  in  one  28  acre 
field.  A few  fields  showed  severe  defoliation  relatively  early,  but  in  the 
main  heavy  infection  did  not  occur  until  near  the  end  of  the  season  when 
heavy  rains  caused  rapid  increase  of  the  disease  where  it  occurred.  In 
a number  of  fields  anthracnose  was  associated  with  bacterial  blight  in 
causing  important  foliage  destruction  late  in  the  summer. 

Downy  Mildew 

Downy  mildew  of  peas  caused  by  Peronospora  viciae  (Berk.)  DeBy.  is 
found  widely  but  sparsely  distributed  almost  wherever  peas  are  grown. 
Rarely  does  it  become  conspicuous.  Frequently  a few  plants  may  be 
found  which  have  been  completely  overrun  by  the  mildew  in  an  apparently 
systemmic  infection.  Such  plants  are  dwarfed  beyond  recovery,  but  con- 
stitute at  most  a small  fraction  of  one  per  cent.  Typically  the  mildew 
occurs  as  irregular  downy  patches  of  violet  gray  color  on  the  under  side 
of  leaves.  Such  leaves  are  yellowish  above  and  are  usually  recurved.  The 
occurrence  of  downy  mildew  in  1924  was  limited  to  a very  few  fields,  in 
none  of  which  did  it  cause  important  injury. 


Bacterial  Blight 

Sackett  (14)  has  described  a bacterial  disease  of  peas  caused  by 
Pseudomonas  pisi  Sackett  which  caused  much  loss  in  Colorado  in  1915  and 


26 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  64 


following  years.  A similar  if  not  identical  disease  occurs  sporadically  in 
Wisconsin,  rarely  causing  important  crop  reduction. 

The  disease  is  characterized  by  the  production  of  water-soaked  lesions 
of  olive  green  to  olive  brown  color  which  may  remain  small  spots,  or,  under 
favoring  conditions,  may  spread  rapidly  to  include  large  portions  of  leaves 
and  stem.  Such  lesions  become  darker  as  they  dry.  In  wet  weather 
bacterial  ooze  may  appear  on  lesions.  Infection  is  through  stomata  and 
wounds.  Lesions  may  develop  on  pods,  and  mature  peas  beneath  lesions 
are  sometimes  found  to  bear  flakes  of  what  appears  to  be  the  dried 
bacterial  slime.  Although  it  has  been  assumed  that  the  bacteria  may  be 
carried  alive  in  this  way  and  thus  infect  seedlings,  such  seed  transmission 
of  the  disease  has  not  actually  been  demonstrated. 

Early  spring  infection  occurring  while  the  seedlings  are  still  young  may 
result  in  important  reductions  of  stand.  Severe  infection  at  any  time  later 
is  able  to  weaken  the  plants  seriously,  at  times  destroying  practically  the 
entire  leaf  surface. 

Bacterial  blight  was  seen  in  1924  both  early  and  late  in  23  fields  in 
various  districts.  Of  the  infested  fields  74  per  cent  had  never  grown  peas 
before,  or  at  least  not  in  recent  years,  a fact  which  seems  to  indicate  no 
important  correlation  between  the  occurrence  of  this  disease  and  the  previous 
growth  of  peas.  Likewise  no  correlation  was  found  between  bacterial 
blight  and  source  of  seed. 

Early  attacks  were  observed  to  weaken  the  plants  and  to  cause  uneven 
development.  Usually  such  early  infection  was  outgrown  and  did  not  lead 
to  subsequent  increase  of  the  disease.  A few  fields  were  observed  to  show 
signs  of  recent  infection  during  late  June  and  early  July,  but  the  most 
severe  cases  were  observed  after  the  middle  of  July.  At  this  time  a few 
fields  were  seen  badly  damaged,  in  one  of  which  the  disease  had  developed 
freely  over  leaves,  stems,  and  pods. 

Mosaic 

Pea  mosaic,  observed  in  experimental  plantings  at  Madison  in  1923.  was 
first  recorded  as  occurring  in  commercial  plantings  in  Wisconsin  in  1924, 
when  it  was  found  widely  but  sparingly  distributed.  In  spite  of  its  early 
appearance  in  1924  at  Madison  it  was  not  conspicuous  in  commercial  fields 
until  July  12,  but  after  this  date  at  least  traces  of  mosaic  were  found  in 
practically  every  factory  district  visited.  In  all,  it  was  recorded  in  63  fields 
in  10  counties.  Most  infested  fields  contained  a mere  trace,*  while  the  heaviest 
estimated  infestation  was  20  per  cent.  A considerable  number  of  fields 
showed  from  5 to  15  per  cent  of  the  plants  infected. 

Varieties  found  diseased  with  the  number  of  fields  of  each  are : Green 
Admiral,  20 ; Alaska,  14 ; Horsford,  13 ; Perfection,  10 ; Winner,  3 ; 
Advancer,  2.  Not  only  did  Admirals  show  the  greatest  number  of  infested 
fields,  but  also  the  heaviest  infestation  and  the  most  evidence  of  injury. 

Injury  from  mosaic  appeared  to  be  negligible  except  in  a few  fields 
where  infestation  was  heavy.  In  some  of  these  fields,  it  appeared  that 
mosaic  plants  were  somewhat  dwarfed  and  failed  to  fill  as  many  pods  as 
healthy  plants.  Judged  by  its  behavior  under  conditions  prevailing  in  Wis- 
consin in  1924  mosaic  of  peas  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  such  a menance 
as  mosaic  diseases  of  some  other  crops  have  been. 

The  origin  of  mosaic  in  these  pea  fields  can  be  only  conjectured  at 
present.  Dickson  (1)  has  reported  the  appearance  of  the  disease  in  several 
varieties  of  field  peas  from  seed  transmission.  On  the  other  hand,  Doolittle 
(2),  using  seed  from  mosaic  plants  in  experimental  plantings  at  Madison, 
Wisconsin,  and  McMillian,  Michigan,  has  planted  nearly  1,000  seed  from 
Alaska  peas  and  smaller  numbers  from  other  varieties  under  controlled 
conditions  without  obtaining  a single  mosaic  plant. 

The  field  occurrence  of  the  disease  in  1924  did  not  suggest  seed  trans- 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


27 


mission,  for  different  varieties  and  peas  from  seed  from  different  sources 
appeared  to  develop  the  disease  almost  simultaneously  in  certain  districts. 
In  one,  for  example,  mosaic  was  found  in  only  four  fields  representing 
three  varieties  from  different  sources. 

On  the  other  hand  Doolittle  (2)  has  produced  mosaic  in  pea  plants  from 
mosaic  red  clover  by  transfer  of  aphids  and  by  artificial  inoculation.  Inas- 
much as  many  pea  aphids  migrate  to  peas  from  red  clover,  on  which  they 
winter,  it  seems  likely  that  mosaic  clover  plants  which  are  abundant  locally 
are  the  source  of  the  disease  in  commercial  plantings. 


FIG.  8.— LOCATION  OF  PEA  CANNERIES  IN  WISCONSIN 

Circles  indicate  the  location  of  the  pea  canning  factories  in  Wisconsin. 
Black  dots  designate  the  factory  districts  surveyed  for  disease  in  1924. 


28 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  64 


SUMMARY 

1.  — The  Wisconsin  pea  crop  of  1924  represented  a total  farm 
value  of  over  $7,000,000.  Pea  diseases  play  a major  part  in  de- 
termining the  systems  of  pea  culture  employed  and  in  reducing 
profits  to  both  growers  and  canners. 

2.  — In  1924  a detailed  survey  was  made  of  688  fields  compris- 
ing 5,416  acres  representatively  distributed  in  the  pea  growing 
sections  of  Wisconsin  to  determine  the  importance  of  the  various 
pea  diseases  and  especially  to  study  the  development  of  rootrot  in 
relation  to  cropping  practices,  soil  types,  and  other  factors  which 
appeared  to  influence  its  occurrence  and  destructiveness. 

3.  — This  bulletin  is  a summary  of  the  findings  of  this  survey, 
supplemented  with  notes  from  pea  disease  investigation  conducted 
in  this  state  by  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  in  cooper- 
ation with  the  Wisconsin  Experiment  Station. 

4.  — The  rootrot  chiefly  considered  in  this  survey  is  that  caused 
by  the  fungus  Aphanomyces  mteiches  Drechsler.  This  fungus 
is  assumed  to  be  indigenous  is  Wisconsin  soils,  occurring  especially 
in  wet  locations.  It  increases  rapidly  in  the  soil  with  culture 
of  peas. 

5. — The  season  of  1924  was  so  cool  and  favorable  for  the  de- 
velopment of  peas  that  fields  infested  with  rootrot  did  not  appear 
to  suffer  as  great  damage  as  in  other  years. 

6.  — The  rootrot  caused  by  Aphanomyces  was  more  destructive 
in  1924  than  all  other  fungous  and  bacterial  diseases  of  peas  com- 
bined, considering  the  state  as  a whole.  In  some  localities  a new- 
ly observed  “wilt”  disease  was  more  destructive,  and  in  the  state 
it  ranked  second  to  the  Aphanomyces  rootrot.  Anthracnose 
caused  by  Colletotrichum  pisi  Pat.  was  the  most  destructive  of 
the  foliage  diseases,  causing  important  losses  in  several  districts. 

7.  — Rootrot  was  found  in  32  per  cent  of  all  fields  examined. 
Eleven  per  cent  of  all  fields  were  severely  infested.  The  total 
loss  in  inspected  fields  is  estimated  at  8 per  cent  of  the  total  yield. 
Since  diseased  fields  were  especially  sought  in  the  survey  it  is 
believed  that  the  pea  crop  in  the  state  as  a whole  did  not  suffer 
as  great  a loss  as  this.  Even  if  the  loss  in  the  entire  state  amounted 
to  only  half  this  amount  or  4 per  cent  of  the  total  yield  it  would 
represent  a loss  to  the  growers  of  about  $300,000  in  addition  to 
losses  incurred  by  the  canning  companies. 

8.  — Of  the  fields  inspected  48  per  cent  were  growing  their  first 
crop  of  peas.  Fields  which  had  been  planted  more  than  once 
to  peas  were  found  to  have  on  the  average  a rotation  period  of 
about  two  and  one-half  years. 

9.  — Rootrot  increases  both  in  frequency  of  occurrence  and  in 
severity  with  the  number  of  crops  grown.  Rootrot  occurred  but 
rarely  in  fields  growing  the  first  crop  of  peas,  while  all  fields 
growing  the  fifth  crop  were  more  or  less  infested.  The  occur- 
rence of  severe  infestation  does  not  increase  rapidly  during  the 


Pea  Disease  Survey  in  Wisconsin 


29 


first  four  crops ; but  it  rose  to  56  per  cent  of  the  fields  growing  the 
fifth  crop. 

10.  — Peas  were  found  growing  on  27  soil  types  and  seven 
groups  of  incompletely  classified  soils,  thus  making  the  number 
of  fields  on  most  types  too  small  for  comparison.  No  soil  type 
showed  prospects  of  providing  environment  in  which  rootrot  can- 
not develop.  The  two  soil  types  which  include  nearly  half  of  all 
the  fields  examined — Miami  silt  loam  and  Carrington  silt  loam — 
show  little  difference  in  behavior.  In  general,  with  similar  crop- 
ping, clays  and  clay  loams  have  a larger  percentage  of  severely  in- 
fested fields  than  loams  and  silt  loams  or  lighter  soils.  In  fields 
including  more  than  one  soil  type,  disease  usually  appears  first  in 
the  soil  with  greater  moisture  holding  capacity,  or  in  poorly  drain- 
ed spots.  Greater  precautions  to  avoid  rootrot  are  needed  on 
heavy  or  wet  soils  than  on  well  drained,  medium,  or  light  soils. 

11.  — Rootrot  was  found  to  persist  in  some  Wisconsin  soils  for 
10  years  after  it  had  caused  crop  failure.  After  such  failure.no 
fields  were  found  entirely  free  from  rootrot  in  less  than  10  years. 

12.  — The  only  commercial  variety  of  pea  that  showed  an  im- 
portant degree  of  resistance  was  the  Green  Admiral ; and  even 
this  variety  was  greatly  damaged  when  not  planted  early. 

13.  — A five  or  six  year  rotation  is  suggested  as  a method  of 
control  of  this  disease  which  should  prevent  its  appearance  on 
most  Wisconsin  soils  not  already  infested.  When  a shorter  rota- 
tion seems  advisable,  careful  inspection  of  fields  can  detect  its 
development  before  it  becomes  destructive.  Resistant  varieties 
are  being  tested  which  may  be  of  value  in  some  situations. 

14.  — Other  diseases  discussed  in  this  bulletin  are  as  follows: 

Stem  and  rootrot  caused  primarily  by  species  of  Fusarium  was 

not  found  in  1924. 

A new  but  apparently  relatively  unimportant  footrot  caused  by 
a species  of  Phoma  was  noted. 

Seedling  injury  caused  by  Rhizoctonia  solani  Kuhn  was  noted 
in  35  fields,  but  for  the  most  part  was  not  important. 

The  relation  of  species  of  Pythium  to  seedling  and  root  in- 
jury is  discussed  briefly. 

A new  wilt  disease  was  found  in  50  fields,  in  some  localities 
causing  greater  losses  than  Aphanomyces  rootrot.  The  cause 
has  not  yet  been  determined. 

Leaf  and  podspot  caused  by  Ascochyta  pisi  Lib.  was  rare  and 
unimportant. 

Leafblotch  caused  by  Septoria  pisi  West,  was  not  abundant  but 
was  important  in  a few  fields  in  northern  districts. 

A leafspot  new  to  Wisconsin  caused  by  Septoria  flagellifera 
E.  and  E.  was  noted. 

Anthracnose  caused  by  CoUetotrichum  pisi  Pat.  was  the  most 
important  foliage  disease  encountered,  causing  considerable  dam- 
age late  in  the  season. 


30 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  64 


Downy  mildew  caused  by  Peronospora  viciae  Berk,  was  rare 
and  unimportant. 

Bacterial  blight  caused  by  Pseudomonas  pisi  Sackett  was  en- 
countered occasionally  both  on  early  planted  peas  on  wet  soil,  and 
on  foliage  of  mature  plants  late  in  the  season. 

Mosaic  was  encountered  frequently  late  in  the  season,  but  rarely 
appeared  to  reduce  yields. 


LITERATURE  CITED 


(1)  Dickson,  B.  T. 

1922  Studies  concerning  mosaic  diseases.  MacDonald  College 
Technical  Bui.  2:  1-125.  illus. 

(2)  Doolitle,  S.  P.  and  Jones',  Fred  Reuel. 

The  mosaic  disease  in  the  garden  pea  and  other  legumes.  Phy- 
topath. (in  press). 

(3)  Drechsler,  Charles 

1925  Root-rot  of  peas  in  the  middle  Atlantic  states  in  1924. 
Phytopath.  15:  110-114. 

(4)  Ellis,  J.  B.,  and  Everhart,  B.  M. 

1900  New  species  of  fungi  from  various  localities  with  notes  on  some 
published  species.  Bui.  Torrey  Bot.  Club  27 : 49-64. 

(5)  Haenseler,  C.  M. 

1924  Pea  root  rot  investigation.  New  Jersey  State  Agr.  Exp.  Sta. 
Rpt.  44:  366-375. 

(6)  Jones,  Fred  Reuel 

1920  Pythium  as  a causal  factor  in  “pea  blight.”  (Abstract)  Phy- 
topath. 10 : 67. 

(7)  and  Vaughan,  R.  E. 

1921  Anthracnose  of  the  garden  pea.  Phytopath.  11  : 500-503.  illus. 

(8)  

1923  Stem  and  rootrot  of  peas  in  the  United  States  caused  by 
species  of  Fusarium.  Agr.  Res.  26 : 459-475.  illus. 

(9)  

1924  A mycorrhizal  fungus  in  the  roots  of  legumes  and  some  other 
plants.  Jour.  Agr.  Res.  29:  459-470.  illus. 

(10)  and  Drechsler,  Charles 

1925  Rootrot  of  peas  in  the  United  States  caused  by  Aphanomyces 
euteiches  n.sp.  Jour.  Agr.  Res.  30:  293-325.  illus. 

(11)  Linford,  M.  B.  and  Vaughan,  R.  E. 

1925  Rootrot  of  peas.  Some  ways  to  avoid  it.  Wis.  Agr.  Extension 
Cir.  188:  1-10.  illus. 

(12)  Melhus,  I.  E. 

1913  Septoria  pisi  in  relation  to  pea  blight.  Phytopath.  3:  51-58. 
illus. 

(13)  Richards,  B.  L. 

1923  Soil  temperature  as  a factor  affecting  the  pathogenicity  of 
Corticium  vagum  on  the  pea  and  the  bean.  Jour.  Agr.  Res.  25  . 
431-449.  illus. 

(14)  Sackett,  Walter  G. 

1916  A bacterial  stem  blight  of  field  and  garden  peas.  Colo.  Agr. 
Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  218:  1-43.  illus. 

(15)  Stone,  R.  E. 

1912  The  life  history  of  Aschyta  on  some  leguminous  plants.  Ann. 
Mycol.  10:  564-592. 

(16)  

1924  Root  rot  and  blight  of  canning  peas.  (Abstract)  Phytopath 
13:  348-349. 

(17)  Vaughan,  R.  E. 

1913  Mycospherella  pinodes  the  ascigerous  stage  of  Ascochyta  pisi. 
(Abstract)  Phytopath.  3 : 71-72. 


3 


C 


y/is 


Research  Bulletin  65 


October,  1925 


Fertilizer  Experiments: 

Methods  of  Application  and  Effect  on  Germination, 
Early  Growth,  Hardiness,  Root  Growth,  Lodging, 
Maturity,  Quality  and  Yield1 


Emil  Truog,  H.  J.  Harper,  O.  C.  Magistad, 
F.  W.  Parker  and  James  Sykora 


Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


of  the 

University  of  Wisconsin 
Madison 


Contents 


Introduction  - 1 

The  function  of  fertilizers  1 

Methods  of  using  fertilizers  1 

Problems  in  the  use  of  fertilizers  1 

Effect  of  fertilizers  on  germination  of  seeds  in  general 2 

Effect  when  applied  in  different  ways  3 

Relation  of  osmotic  pressure  of  seeds  and  sprouts  3 

Fertilizer  experiments  with  corn  5 

Effect  of  amount  and  method  of  application  on  germination 

and  growth  .. 5 

Relation  of  moisture  content  of  soil  on  influence  of  fertilizers 

on  germination  11 

Summary  of  experiments  on  germination  .. 15 

Greenhouse  studies  on  effect  of  hill  fertilization  on  root  de- 
velopment   16 

Summary  on  effect  of  fertilizers  on  root  development  20 

Field  experiments  in  1919  and  1920  20 

Summary  of  field  experiment  in  1920  .. 26 

Field  experiment  in  1921  27 

Field  experiments  in  1922  27 

Field  experiments  in  1923  .. 31 

Field  studies  on  effect  of  hill  fertilization  on  root  development  31 
Influence  of  fertilizers  in  protecting  young  corn  against  freezing  32 

The  theory  and  practice  of  corn  fertilization  32 

Machinery  for  applying  fertilizers  to  corn  — 34 

Fertilizer  experiments  with  oats  36 

Experiment  with  oats  in  1920  37 

Experiment  with  oats  in  1921  .. .. 42 

Experiments  with  oats  in  1922  42 

Experiments  with  oats  in  1923  42 

Fertilizer  experiments  with  cabbage  42 

Experiment  with  cabbage  in  1919  42 

Experiment  with  cabbage  in  1922  45 

Fertilizer  experiments  with  potatoes  on  methods  of  application 45 

Machinery  for  applying  fertilizers  to  potatoes  47 

Utilization  of  ammoniacal  and  nitrate  nitrogen  by  plants  — 48 

Summary  on  utilization  of  ammoniacal  and  nitrate  nitrogen  50 

Secondary  effects  of  fertilizers  «...  50 

General  Summary  53 

Effect  of  fertilizers  on  germination  53 

Corn  experiments  54 

Oats  experiments  54 

Cabbage  experiments  55 

Potato  experiments  55 

Ammoniacal  and  nitrate  nitrogen  55 

Secondary  effects  of  fertilizers  55 


Fertilizer  Experiments: 

Methods  of  Application  and  Effect  on  Germination, 
Early  Growth,  Hardiness,  Root  Growth,  Lodging, 
Maturity,  Quality  and  Yield1 

Emil  Truog,  H.  J.  Harper,  O.  C.  M agist  ad,  F.  W.  Parker 
and  James  Sykora 

FERTILIZERS  are  added  to  soils  for  the  purpose  of  supplying 
plant  food  elements  which  are  present  in  too  small  an  amount 
or  in  an  unbalanced  proportion.  Aside  from  increasing  yields, 
fertilizers  when  properly  used  may'  produce  a number  of  desirable  re- 
sults as  follows: 

1.  The  quality  of  the  crop  may  be  improved. 

2.  Early  growth,  root  development,  and  hardiness  may  be  promoted. 

3.  Lodging  may  be  lessened. 

4.  Maturity  may  be  hastened. 

5.  Danger  of  injury  from  frosts  and  other  unfavorable  weather  con- 
ditions as  well  as  from  insects  and  diseases  may  be  lessened. 

The  present  investigation  was  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  studying 
.the  various  effects  which  fertilizers  have  on  crops.  It  was  soon  found 
that  the  method  of  applying  the  fertilizer  has  a very  important  bearing 
on  the  results  that  may  be  obtained,  and  hence  a considerable  portion  of 
the  present  investigation  was  devoted  to  a study7  of  methods  of  appli- 
cation. 

Fertilizer  usage  may  be  divided  into  two  kinds.  There  is  first  the  use 
of  fertilizers,  especially  phosphates,  in  comparatively  heavy'  broadcast 
applications  for  the  purpose  of  building  up  the  basal  supply'  of  essential 
elements  which  are  known  to  be  too  low  in  the  soil  under  consideration 
for  practically*  all  crops.  Second  there  is  the  use  of  fertilizers  in  a con- 
centrated way  in  the  hill  or  drill  row  to  supply  the  special  needs  of 
certain  crops  and  conditions  so  as  to  produce  the  various  favorable 
effects  mentioned.  By'  using  a fertilizer  according  to  the  second  method 
it  is  possible  to  surround  the  young  plant  with  a much  higher  concen- 
tration of  essential  elements  than  is  practicable  with  the  ordinary' 
broadcast  applications,  and  hence  it  should  be  possible  to  promote  early 
growth  and  some  of  the  other  favorable  effects  *on  the  young  plant 
with  much  less  fertilizer  and  at  less  cost  than  with  the  broadcast  method. 

The  use  of  fertilizer  in  the  hill  or  drill  row,  however,  involves  certain 
problems  which  must  be  recognized  if  the  use  in  this  way  is  to  be  suc- 
cessful. The  problems  are:  (1)  The  danger  of  delaying  or  even  pre- 

venting germination  if  too  much  fertilizer  is  improperly'  placed  near  or 
in  contact  with  the  seed.  (2)  The  danger  of  producing  too  much  top 
growth  in  comparison  with  the  root  growth  causing  what  is  called 
"fireing”  (a  drying  up  of  the  leaves)  in  time  of  drought.  (3)  The 
danger  of  making  the  field  ununiform  in  fertility',  causing  the  succeeding 
crop  to  be  streaky  and  patchy.  (4)  The  problem  of  knowing  the  best 


^hese  experiments  were  conducted  under  a fellowship  grant  from  the  Soil 
Improvement  Committee  of  the  National  Fertilizer  Association.  The  authors 
are  indebted  to  A.  R.  Albert  for  assistance  in  starting  the  experiments. 


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Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


fertilizer  to  use  for  each  particular  case.  These  four  problems  as  well 
as  others  were  studied  and  are  discussed  in  the  present  report.  The 
investigation  was  conducted  in  the  laboatory,  greenhouse  and  field  for 
a period  of  five  years.  A large  portion  of  the  investigation  was  carried 
on  with  corn  because  of  its  great  importance  as  a crop  and  adaptability 
to  special  fertilization. 

EFFECT  OF  FERTILIZERS  ON  GERMINATION  OF  SEEDS 

A considerable  number  of  investigations  have  been  made  on  the  effect 
of  fertilizers  and  salts  on  germination,  but  comparatively  few  in  which 
the  method  of  application,  moisture  content  of  the  soil,  and  the  soil  class 
have  been  considered.2 

The  results  of  these  investigators  indicate  that  fertilizers  retard 
germination  more  readily  on  sands  than  on  the  heavier  soils ; that  the 
injury  is  greatest  at  the  low  moisture  contents  ; and  that  the  injury  is 
greatest  when  the  fertilizer  is  applied  in  direct  contact  with  the  seed. 
The  results  obtained  by  Allison  regarding  the  effect  of  the  method  of 
application  on  germination  are  not  in  agreement  with  those  obtained 
by  Hicks,  Hutcheson  and  Sherwin.  This  may  be  due  to  the  small 
amount  of  soil  used  by  Allison. 

Experiments  were  conducted  on  the  effect  of  fertilizers-  on  the  ger- 
mination of  seeds  of  a number  of  field  and  garden  plants.3 

The  results  of  these  greenhouse  and  garden  experiments  are  sum- 
marized in  Table  I. 

The  data  in  Table  I show  that  the  field  pea,  cowpea,  navy  bean,  and 
soybean  are  very  sensitive  to  the  application  of  fertilizer  in  contact 


^Sigmund  (.17)  and  Rusche  (14)  have  conducted  extensive  experiments  on  the 
effect  of  a large  variety  of  fertilizer  salts  and  other  chemicals  on  the  germina- 
tion of  different  seeds.  Rusche  has  also  studied  their  effect  on  the  early 
growth  of  the  plants.  Buffum  (4),  Slosson  (19)  and  Stewart  (20)  have  reported 
experiments  on  the  effect  of  the  salts  common  in  alkali  soils  on  the  germination 
of  different  seeds.  Slosson  (18)  and  Rudolfs  (13)  have  shown  that  one  cause 
of  the  delayed  germination  is  the  reduced  rate  of  imbibition  of  w-ater  by  seeds 
in  the  salt  solutions.  There  was  a general  relation  between  the  osmotic 
pressure  of  the  solution  and  its  effect  on  germination,  but  there  were  some 
exceptions  to  this  general  statement. 

Harris  (7)  has  reported  some  experiments  on  germination,  using  different 
salts  and  salt  mixtures.  The  germination  tests  were  carried  out  in  tumblers 
and  in  most  cases  the  salts  were  added  in  solution.  He  found  greater  in- 
jury to  germination  at  low  than  at  high  moisture  contents  of  the  soil,  and  the 
injury  was  much  greater  in  a sandy  soil  than  in  a loam.  Hicks  (8)  found  that 
the  injury  to  germination  was  greater  when  the  fertilizer  was  placed  in  the 
row  in  direct  contact  with  the  seed  than  when  it  was  thoroughly  mixed  with 
the  top  layer  of  soil.  He  also  found  that  nitrate  of  soda  and  muriate  of 
potash  retard  germination  more  than  acidified  bone  black.  Hutcheson  (10) 
reports  similar  experiments.  Fertilizer  salts  were  applied  broadcast,  and  in 
the  row  with  the  seed  on  a sandy  loam,  and  on  a silt  loam.  The  injury  to 
germination  was  greatest  on  the  sandy  loam,  especially  when  the  fertilizer  was 
applied  in  the  drill  row  with  the  seed.  Allison  (1)  studied  the  effect  of 
ammonium  phosphate  and  some  other  salts  on  germination.  He  found  that 
sandy  soils  require  only  one-tenth  as  heavy  an  application  of  salts  to  cause 
injury  to  germination  as  do  loams  and  clays.  The  germination  tests  were 
made  in  tumblers  containing  about  two  hundred  grams  of  soil.  Little  or  no 
difference  was  found  when  the  fertilizer  wras  applied  in  direct  contact  with 
the  seed,  one  inch  above  the  seed,  one  inch  below'  the  seed,  or  mixed  with 
all  the  soil  in  the  tumbler.  A field  experiment  indicated  that  150  pounds 
per  acre  of  ammonium  phosphate  applied  in  the  drill  row  with  the  seed  was 
injurious  to  the  germination  and  early  growth  of  corn.  The  soil  was  a loam, 
and  the  season  was  rather  wet  so  tne  soil  was  at  a high  moisture  content 
most  of  the  time.  Sherwin  (16)  reports  results  similar  to  Hicks. 

Two  trials  were  made  in  the  greenhouse,  using  one  gallon  jars  filled  writh 
Plainfield  sand,  which  was  kept  at  a moisture  content  of  13  per  cent.  Seeds 
as  follows  were  planted  at  depths  indicated:  lettuce  and  carrots  at  a depth 
of  / inch;  cucumber,  muskmelon,  watermelon,  and  scruash  at  a depth  of  1 
inch;  corn,  bean,  pea,  soybean,  and  cowpea  at  a depth  of  1 y2  inches;  and 
potato  at  a depth  of  2 inches.  A 3-10-4  commercial  fertilizer  wras  applied  at 
the  rate  of  500  pounds  per  acre,  except  with  lettuce  and  carrots,  in  wrhich 


Fertilizers 


3 


with  the  seed,  but  that  application  above  or  below  the  seed  largely 
eliminates  the  detrimental  effect.  Because  of  convenience  and  practi- 
bility,  application  above  the  seed  is  advisable  with  these  four  plants 
when  fertilizer  is  applied  in  the  hill  or  drill  row. 

The  germination  of  lettuce  and  carrot  is  affected  and  delayed  most 
by  the  application  of  fertilizer  near  the  surface.  For  these  plants  it  is 
best  to  work  the  fertilizer  into  the  soil  several  inches  prior  to  planting. 

Table  I. — Effect  of  Fertilizer  on  Germination  of  Seeds  When  Applied 
In  Ways  Indicated 


Kind  of  Seed 

Retarding  effect  of  fertilizer  on 

germination 

With  the  seed 

Above  the  seed 

Below  the  seed 

Field  pea 

Very  marked 

Very  slight 

Slight 

Cowpea 

Marked 

Very  slight 

Very  slight 

Navy  bean 

Very  marked 

Slight 

Very  slight 

Soybean 

Very  marked 

Slight 

Slight 

Lettuce 

Slight 

Marked 

Very  slight 

Carrot 

Slight 

Marked 

Very  slight 

Squash 

Very  marked 

Slight 

Marked 

Cucumber 

Marked 

Slight 

Marked 

Muskmelon 

Very  marked 

Slight 

Very  marked 

Watermelon 

Very  marked 

Slight 

Marked 

Potato 

Marked 

Marked 

Very  slight 

Corn 

Marked 

Very  slight 

Very  slight 

Squash,  cucumber,  watermelon,  and  muskmelon  are  quite  sensitive 
to  fertilizers',  and  for  these  it  is  best  to  apply  the  fertilizer  about  one- 
half  inch  above  the  seed  if  the  fertilizer  is  applied  in  the  hill. 

Potato  sprouts  are  very  sensitive  to  fertilizer,  and  hence,  in  potato 
fertilization  the  fertilizer  should  be  placed  either  to  the  side  of  the  seed 
or  else  below  the  seed  so  that  the  sprouts'  will  not  come  in  direct  con- 
tact with  high  concentrations  of  fertilizer  in  coming  up  through  the  soil. 

Corn  seed  requires  considerable  water  to  germinate,  and  if  fertilizer 
is  applied  in  direct  contact  with  the  seed,  the  taking  up  of  the  water  is 
either  prevented  or  delayed  so  much  by  the  attraction  of  the  fertilizer 
salts  for  the  water,  that  the  corn  germinates  slowly  or  not  at  all.  When 
the  corn  once  sprouts,  the  sprout  unlike  the  potato  sprout,  is  able  to  pass 
through  a considerable  concentration  of  fertilizer,  and  hence  application 
of  fertilizer  above  the  seed  for  corn  is  a very  successful  method  in  hill 
and  drill  row  application. 

The  marked  difference  in  sensitiveness  of  corn  and  potato  sprouts 
to  fertilizer  raises  the  important  question  as  to  why  this  is  the  case. 
It  was  thought  that,  possibly,  the  sap  of  corn  sprouts  has'  a higher 
osmotic  pressure  than  the  sap  of  potato  sprouts,  making  it  more  difficult 
for  the  fertilizer  salts'  to  draw  water  out  of  the  corn  sprouts,  and  thus 
cause  them  to  lose  turgidity  and  shrivel  up.  Freezing  point  ’determin- 
ations gave  an  osmotic  pressure  of  7.18  atmospheres  for  corn  sprouts 
and  6.15  atmospheres  for  potato  sprouts,  indicating  that  the  possibility 


caSes  1,000  pounds  was  applied.  The  fertilizer  was  applied  at  three  different 
depths  to  each  crop,  viz : y2  inch  helow  the  seed,  at  the  same  level  as  the 
seed,  and  (with  the  exception  of  lettuce  and  carrots)  y2  inch  above  the  seed 
Since  lettuce  and  carrots  must  be  planted  shallow,  the  fertilizer  could  not 
^keTinl  l^ttlT"  thC  SCed’  S°  tt  sim*>iy  »PPUed  “SadSlt  and 

The  experiment  just  described  was  repeated  twice  with  some  of  the  croDS 
in  the  garden  on  a Miami  silt  loam.  Fertilizer  applications  of  the  same  kind 
and  rate  were  made  as  those  of  the  greenhouse  experiments.  The  seed  I Se 
planted  m rows  and  the  fertilizer  was  applied  in  a band  2J4  inches  wfd<TdL 
rectly  along  the  row.  In  the  first  trial,  several  heavy  rains  followed  imme- 
diately  after  planting  causing  the  ground  to  be  packed  and  hard.  In  the  sec- 
ond experiment  the  ground  was  very  dry  at  planting  time. 


4 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


just  mentioned  was  probably  true.  Another  factor  in  this  connection 
is  the  amount  of  protection  which  the  epidermis  may  give.  Besides  hav- 
ing a more  protective  epidermis,  the  corn  sprouts  are  probably  also% 
protected  by  a sheath  which  the  potato  sprouts  do  not  have. 


Table  II. — Osmotic  Pressure  of  the  Cell  Sap  of  Sprouts  of  Some 

Common  Plants 


Plant 

Freezing  point 
depression  in  °C 

Osmotic  pressure  in  atmospheres 

Single  trials 

Average 

Corn  

.592 

7.132 

7.180 

.600 

7.229 

Rye  

.585 

7.048 

.589 

7.096 

7.072 

Field  peas  

.567 

6.831 

.568 

6.843 

6.837 

.552 

6.652 

Navy  beans  .... 

.516 

6.578 

6.628 

.569 

6.855 

Oats  

.549 

6.616 

.542 

6.530 

6.573 

Cowpcas  

.502 

5.049 

6.025 

.498 

6.001 

.508 

6.121 

Potatoes  

.528 

6.362 

6.150 

.498 

6.001 

.516 

6.217 

Cucumbers  .... 

.315 

3.797 

.312 

3.761 

3.779 

Muskmelons 

.269 

3.243 

.266 

3.206 

3.225 

FT  '!  r IT-' 

In  Table  II  the  osmotic  pressures  of  the  cell  sap  of  sprouts  of  a num- 
ber of  plants  is  given.  In  determining  these  osmotic  pressures',  about 
10  grams  of  tissue  were  macerated  in  a test  tube.  A Beckman  ther- 
mometer was.  then  inserted,  the  material  gently  pressed  around  the 
bulb,  and  the  freezing  point  depression  determined  in  the  usual  way. 

The  data  in  Table  II  show  marked  differences  in  the  osmotic  press- 
ures. Cucumber  and  watermelon  sprouts  have  a very  low  osmotic  press- 
ure but,  nevertheless,  are  able  to  pass  through  considerable  concentra- 
tions of  fertilizer  due,  no  doubt,  to  a protective  epidermis. 

Several  investigations  have  shown  that  the  osmotic  pressure  of  seeds 
varies  and  have  suggested  that  retardation  of  germination  by  fertil- 
izers is  greater  with  some  seeds  than  others  because  of  a lower  osmotic 
pressure  of  the  former.  The  lower  the  osmotic  pressure  of  the  seeds, 
the  more*  difficult  is  it  for  the  seeds  to  compete  with  fertilizer  salts 
for  water  needed  for  germination.  Experiments  conducted  by  the 
writers  indicate  that  this  may  be  a factor. 

There  are  thus,  probably,  at  least  three  factors  inherent  in  the  seed 
or  sprout  itself,  which  determine  the  amount  of  effect  of  fertilizers  on 
the  germination  of  seed;  viz.,  osmotic  pressure  of  the  seed,  osmotic 
pressure  of  the  sprout,  and  amount  of  protective  covering  on  the  sprout. 


Fertilizers 


5 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  CORN 

The  problem  of  maturing  the  heavier  yielding  varieties  of  corn  in 
Wisconsin,  especially  in  the  central  and  northern  portions  of  the 
state,  is  a particularly  important  one.  Also,  the  problem  of  making  corn 
grow  rapidly  from  the  start  so  that  it  can  be  cultivated  to  advantage 
before  the  weeds  get  well  started  is  of  great  importance,  especially  dur- 
ing cool  and  wet  springs.  The  use  of  a fertilizer  in  the  hill  or  drill 
row  in  connection  with  these  problems  is  well  worthy  of  consideration. 
A difficulty  sometimes  experienced  in  the  use  of  fertilizers  in  this  way 
has  been  that  the  germination  of  the  corn  was  greatly  retarded  or  even 
entirely  prevented. 

Fertilizer  attachments  may  now  be  secured  for  nearly  all  kinds  of  corn 
planters.  The  way  in  which  these  different  attachments  apply  the  fer- 
tilizer varies  greatly.  Some  apply  it  directly  in  contact  with  the  seed  or 
to  one  side  of  the  seed  without  sufficient  scattering  and  mixing  with 
the  soil.  Others  apply  it  above  the  seed  and  some  of  these  mix  it  fairly 
well  with  the  soil.  The  fertilizer  may  also  be  applied  in  the  drill  row, 
that  is,  the  fertilizer  is  applied  in  a continuous  stream  along  the  corn 
row.  This  method  is  commonly  used  when  the  corn  is  drilled,  but  may 
also  be  used  when  the  corn  is  planted  in  hills. 

In  connection  with  the  use  of  fertilizer  in  the  hill  for  corn,  experi- 
ments were  planned  to  determine: 

(1)  The  method  of  application  which  retards'  germination  the  least. 

(2)  The  amount  of  fertilizer  that  may  safely  be  applied  on  different 
soils. 

(3)  The  relation  of  the  moisture  content  of  the  soil  to  the  amount  of 
fertilizer  that  may  be  applied. 


Greenhouse  experiment  on  the  effect  of  the  amount  and  method  of  ap- 
plication of  fertilizer  upon  the  germination  and  early  growth 
of  corn  in  different  soils. 

This  experiment  was  conducted  in  pots  in  the  greenhouse.  Three 
different  soils'  and  commercial  2-12-2  fertilizer  were  used.  The  fertilizer 
was  applied  in  the  hill  in  a band  four  inches  wide  and  eight  inches  long, 
which  is  similar  to  the  result  secured  with  a good  fertilizer  attachment 
on  a corn  planter.4 

On  March  9,  the  corn  was  planted  and  fertilizer  was  applied  as 
follows  per  hill  or  jar : 

1.  Check,  no  fertilizer. 

2.  100  pounds  2-12-2  per  acre  or  12.96  grams'  per  hill. 

3.  200  pounds  2-12-2  per  acre  or  25.92  grams  per  hill. 

4.  300  pounds  2-12-2  per  acre  or  38.88  grams  per  hill. 

5.  400  pounds  2-12-2  per  acre  or  51.84  grams  per  hill. 

Four  series  of  these  treatments  were  made  with  each  soil.  In  the 
first  series  the  fertilizer  was  applied  one-half  inch  below  the  seed;  in  the 
second,  with  the  seed;  in  the  third,  one-half  inch  above  the  seed;  and 
in  the  fourth  it  was  applied  one  inch  above  the  seed.  Optimum  mois- 

rates  of  application  were  100,  200,  300  and  400  pounds  per  acre. 
With  corn  three  and  one-half  feet  apart,  giving  in  round  numbers  3,500  hills 
of  corn  to  the  acre,  these  rates  are  equivalent  respectively  to  12.96,  25.92, 
38.88  and  51.84  grams  of  fertilizer  per  hill.  In  all  cases  eight  seeds  were 
planted  to  the  hill  at  a depth  of  two  inches.  The  three  soils  used  were 
a slightly  acid  Miami  silt  loam,  a strongly  acid  Plainfield  sand,  and  a neutral 
peat  from  the  University  marsh. 

A preliminary  test  was  made  to  determine  the  effect  of  using  2 and  4-gallon 
jars  for  the  experiment.  It  was  found  that  the  size  of  the  jar  did  not  affect 
the  results  of  germination  and  early  growth  but  that  the  four-gallon  jars  per- 
mited  better  later  growth.  Since  germination  and  early  growth  were  the 
points  of  study,  the  two-gallon  jars  were  used  in  all  subsequent  work  on 
germination  with  one  exception  which  will  be  mentioned  later. 


6 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


ture  conditions  for  plant  growth  were  maintained  and  observations  on 
germination  were  made  daily.  The  plants  were  photographed  March 
27  and  thinned  to  three  plants  per  jar.  On  April  12  another  plant  was 
removed  leaving  the  two  most  vigorous  plants  in  each  pot.  They  were 
permitted  to  grow  until  May  10  at  which  time  they  were  harvested  and 
the  dry  weight  of  tops  and  roots  determined. 

Germination:  The  percentage  germination  obtained  under  the  con- 

ditions indicated  is  given  in  table  III.  Application  of  the  fertilizer  one- 
half  inch  below  the  seed  did  not  reduce  the  percentage  germination  in 
any  instance  except  with  the  heavier  applications  on  the  Plainfield 
sand.  However,  the  larger  amounts  delayed  germination  two  or  three 
days.  When  applied  with  the  seed  the  fertilizer  was  extremely  injurious1 
even  in  small  amounts  ; the  percentage  germination  was  greatly  reduced ; 
and  where  germination  did  take  place  it  was  delayed,  and  many  of  the 
seedlings  were  severely  injured.  Applications  one-half  inch  above  the 
seed  were  less  harmful  than  those  with  the  seed.  However,  with  the 
silt  loam  and  sand  the  percentage  germination  was  greatly  reduced 
when  the  fertilizer  was  applied  at  the  rate  of  200  pounds  per  acre. 
Germination  in  the  peat  was  not  reduced  even  by  the  400  pound  appli- 
cation. When  applied  one  inch  above  the  seed  there  was  very  little 
injury  except  with  the  larger  amounts  on  the  sandy  soil.  On  the  other 
two  soils,  germination  was  delayed  to  some  extent  but  was  not  pre- 
vented. Figures  1,  2,  and  3 show  the  effect  of  the  different  rates  and 
methods  of  application  of  fertilizer  on  the  germination  of  corn  on  the 
three  soils. 


Table  III. — Percentage  Germination  of  Corn,  with  the  2-12-2 
Fertilizer  Application  Indicated,  on  Miami  Silt  Loam, 
Plainfield  Sand  and  Peat 


Miami  silt  loam 


Rate  of  application 
on  acre  basis 

Method  of  Fertilizer  Application 

J4  inch  below 
seed 

With  the 
seed 

'/■z  inch  abov< 
seed 

1 inch  above 
seed 

Per  cent 
germ. 

Per  cent 
germ. 

Per  cent 
germ. 

Per  cent 
germ. 

Check  

100 

100 

100 

100 

100  lbs 

100 

25 

87.5 

100 

200  lbs 

100 

0 

62.5 

100 

300  lbs 

100 

12.5 

50 

100 

400  lbs 

100 

0 

25 

100 

Plainfield  sand 

Check  

100 

75 

100 

100 

100  lbs 

100 

50 

100 

100 

200  lbs 

75 

0 

62.5 

87.5 

300  lbs 

87.5 

0 

62.5 

87.5 

400  lbs 

50 

0 

37.5 

87.5 

Peat 


Check  

100 

100 

100 

100 

100  lbs 

100 

50 

100 

100 

200  lbs 

100 

12.5 

100 

100 

300  lbs 

100 

12.5 

100 

100 

400  lbs 

100 

0 

100 

100 

Plant  Growth:  In  all  cases  of  fertilization  where  germination  took 

place,  the  plants  quickly  recovered  from  the  initial  retarding  effect, 
made  good  growth  ,and  soon  were  better  than  the  checks.  The  weights 
of  dry  tops  and  roots1  are  given  in  table  IV.  The  100  pound  applications 
increased  growth  with  all  methods  of  application,  but  the  best  results 
were  secured  when  the  fertilizer  was  placed  one-half  inch  below  the 


Fertilizers 


7 


FIG.  1.— THE  INFLUENCE  ON  GERMINATION  OF  THE  METHOD  AND  RATE 
OF  FERTILIZER  APPLICATION  IN  THE  HILL  FOR  CORN  ON  MIAMI  SILT 

LOAM 

The  fertilizer  used  was  2-12-2  and  the  rates  on  the  acre  basis  are  given  at 
the  bottom  of  the  last  series.  These  rates  apply  in  the  same  order  to  all  four 
series  above.  The  results  indicate  that  fertilizer  should  never  be  applied  in 
seed.  When  properly  applied  y2  to  1 inch  above  the  seed, 
1UU  to  2J0  pounds  to  the  acre  may  safely  be  used  in  the  hill  on  a silt  loam  soil. 


8 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


FIG.  2— THE  INFLUENCE  ON  GERMINATION  OF  THE  METHOD  AND  RATE 
OF  FERTILIZER  APPLICATION  IN  THE  HILL  FOR  CORN  ON  PLAINFIELD 

SAND 

The  fertilizer  used  was  2-12  2 and  the  rates  on  the  acre  basis  are  given  at 
the  bottom  of  the  last  series.  These  rates  apply  in  the  same  order  to  all  four 
series  above.  The  results  indicate  that  fertilizer  should  never  be  applied  in 
contact  with  the  seed.  When  properly  applied  y2  to  1 inch  above  the  seed, 
100  to  150  pounds  to  the  acre  may  safely  be  used  in  the  hill  on  a sandy  soil. 


Fertilizers 


9 


FIG.  3— THE  INFLUENCE  ON  GERMINATION  OF  THE  METHOD  AND  RATE 
OF  FERTILIZER  APPLICATION  IN  THE  HILL  FOR  CORN  ON  PEAT 

The  fertilizer  used  was  2-12  2 and  the  rates  on  the  acre  basis  are  given  at 
the  bottom  of  the  last  series.  These  rates  apply  in  the  same  order  to  all  four 
series  above.  The  results  indicate  that  fertilizer  should  never  be  applied  in 
contact  with  the  seed.  When  properly  applied  % 1°  1 inch  above  the  seed, 
100  to  400  pounds  to  the  acre  may  safely  be  used  in  the  hill  on  a peat  soil. 


10 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


seed,  with  the  seed,  and  one-half  inch  above  the  seed.  With  applica- 
tions of  200,  300  and  400  pounds  per  acre  the  best  results  were  secured 
when  the  fertilizer  was  placed  one-half  inch  above  the  seed.  However, 
this  method  greatly  reduced  the  percentage  of  germination  in  the  sand 
and  silt  loam.  The  plants  that  came  up  soon  made  a very  vigorous 
growth  and  surpassed  those  receiving  the  fertilizer  below  the  seed  or 
one  inch  above  the  seed. 


Table  IV. — Weights  of  Dry  Corn  Per  Pot  Secured  With  the  Dif- 
ferent Rates  and  Methods  of  Fertilizer  Application  Indicated. 


Treatment  on  acre  basis 
2-12-2  fertilizer 

Miami  silt  loam 

Plainfield  sand 

Peat  soil 

Tops 

grams 

Roots 

grams 

Tops 

grams 

Roots 

grams 

Tops 

grams 

Roots 

grams 

Check  (Average  of  4) . _ _ ...  . 

6.0 

4.6 

3.2 

4.0 

10.5 

2.7 

100  lbs.  Yi"  below  seed 

18.5 

13.0 

13.  S 

7.5 

25.0 

8.0 

100  lbs.  with  seed 

21.5 

10.0 

13.5 

8.5 

29.5 

7.5 

100  lbs.  Yi"  above  seed 

19.5 

9.C 

13.0 

9.0 

40.8 

6.5 

100  lbs.  1 ' above  seed - - - 

12.5 

8.0 

7.0 

6.5 

18.0 

5.0 

200  lbs.  XA  " below  seed -- 

20.0 

10.5 

9.0 

6.5 

30.5 

8.5 

200  lbs.  with  seed..- 

** 

** 

V* 

** 

14.0* 

2.0 

200  lbs.  Yi  'above  seed ..  . 

30.5 

11.0 

18.0 

8.0 

45.0 

8.0 

200  lbs.  1 " above  seed 

13.0 

4.0 

7.5 

5.5 

19.5 

5.0 

300  lbs.  xAn  below  seed 

23.0 

10.5 

15.0 

8.5 

33.0 

7.5 

300  lbs.  with  seed 

21.5 

8.5 

«* 

** 

38.5* 

8.0* 

300  lbs.  M ' above  seed 

30.5 

13.0 

22.5 

11.5 

46.5 

10.0 

300  lbs.  1' above  seed..  . . . . 

15.5 

8.0 

9.5 

6.5 

28.5 

9.0 

400  lbs.  y below  seed 

22.0 

9.0 

13.5 

7.0 

41.5 

12.0 

400  lbs.  with  seed 

** 

•* 

** 

** 

** 

** 

400  lbs.  Y-2. ' above  seed 

33.5 

12.5 

8.5 

4.0 

58.5 

10.0 

400  lbs.  1 ' above  seed ... 

17.5 

10.0 

5.5 

5.5 

32.5 

10.0 

* Only  one  plant  per  jar  germinated. 
**No  germination. 


These  results  indicate  that  the  most  rapid  growth  is  secured  when 
the  fertilizer  is  applied  as  near  the  seed  as  possible  without  preventing 
germination.  Where  the  plants  germinated,  the  best  results  were  se- 
cured with  the  fertilizer  applied  one-half  inch  above  the  seed.  The 
only  objection  to  this  method  of  application  is  that  it  may  reduce  the 
percentage  germination  quite  markedly,  especially  with  heavy  applica- 
tions' on  light  soils.  There  is,  however,  under  most  circumstances,  little 
need  of  applying  more  than  100  or  200  pounds  to  the  acre  in  the  hill. 
The  indications  are  that  for  most  conditions  an  application  of  125  to 
150  pounds  per  acre  placed  in  the  hill  one-half  to  three-quarters  of  an 
inch  above  the  seed  will  give  the  most  desirable  results  considering 
both  the  percentage  of  germination  and  later  growth. 

The  weight  of  the  roots  was  generally  the  greatest  when  the  fertil- 
izer was  applied  one-half  inch  above  the  seed.  Subsequent  experiments 
show  the  effect  of  fertilization  in  the  hill  on  the  root  development  of 
corn. 

The  commercial  fertilizer  2-12-2,  used  in  these  experiments  was 
largely  acid  phosphate,  and  a portion  of  the  nitrogen  was  in  an  organic 
These  fer61izer  constituents  are  much  less  injurious  than  more 
soluble  salts.  Several  investigators  have  shown  that  very  soluble  salts 
such  as  NaCl,  KC1,  NaNOs,  KsSO*  and  Ca(NOs)2  are  more  injurious 
to  germination  than  acid  phosphate.  It  is  very  probable  that  a fertil- 
izer carrying  a higher  percentage  of  soluble  nitrogen  and  potash  would 
be  more  injurious  to  germination  and  should  either  be  applied  farther 
irom  the  seed  or  else  in  smaller  amounts. 


Fertilizers 


11 


Greenhouse  Experiment  on  the  Effect  of  the  Moisture  Content  of  the 
Soil  on  the  Influence  of  Fertilizer,  Applied  in  the  Hill, 
on  the  Germination  of  Corn 

For  the  purpose  of  determining  the  influence  of  the  moisture  content 
of  the  soil  upon  the  effect  of  fertilizer  applied  in  the  hill  on  the  germin- 
ation of  corn,  the  following  experiment  was  carried  out : Each  of  the 

soils  used  in  the  preceding  experiment  was  used  at  three  moisture  con- 
tents ; viz.,  one-third,  one-half,  and  two-thirds  of  its  water-holding 
capacity.  Commercial  2-12-2  fertilizer  was  applied  both  with  the  seed 


Table  V. — Percentage  Germination  of  Corn  at  Low,  Medium  and 
High  Moisture  Contents  With  2-12-2  Fertilizer  Application  ; 
Indicated,  on  Three  Soils. 


Miami  silt  loam 


Rate  of  application  on  acre  basis 

Fertilizer  with  seed 

Fertilizer  above  seed 

Per  cent  moisture  in  soil 

Per  cent  moisture  in  soil 

14.5 

low 

21.75 

medium 

29.0 

high 

14.5 

low 

21.75 

medium 

29.0 

high 

per  cent 
germ. 

per  cent 
germ. 

per  cent 
germ. 

per  cent 
germ. 

per  cent 
germ. 

per  cent 
erm. 

Check 

100 

100 

100 

87 

100 

100 

100  lbs 

87 

100 

87 

100 

100 

100 

200  lbs 

12 

75 

100 

87 

100 

100 

300  lbs 

0 

50 

100 

25 

75 

100 

400  lbs 

0 

25 

100 

25 

62 

100 

Plainfield  sand 


Rate  of  application  on  acre  basis 

Fertilizer  with  seed 

Fertilizer  above  seed 

Per  cent  moisture 

in  soil 

Per  cent  moisture  in  soil 

6.13 

low 

9.20 

medium 

12.26 

high 

6.13 

low 

9.20 

medium 

12.26 

high 

per  cent 
germ. 

per  cent 
germ. 

per  cent 
germ. 

per  cent 
germ. 

per  cent 
germ. 

per  cent 
germ. 

Check 

100 

100 

100 

87 

100 

100 

100  lbs 

100 

100 

100 

100 

87 

100 

200  lbs 

50 

100 

87 

62 

100 

87 

300  lbs 

0 

62' 

75 

50 

100 

87 

400  lbs 

12 

12 

25 

37 

87 

75 

Peat 


Rate  of  application  on  acre  basis 

Fertilizer  with  seed 

Fertilizer  above  seed 

Per  cent  moisture  in  soil 

Per  cent  moisture 

in  soil 

141 

low 

212 

medium 

282 

high 

141 

low 

212 

medium 

282 

high 

Per  cent 
. germ. 

Per  cent 
germ. 

Per  cent 
germ. 

Per  cent 
germ. 

Per  cent 
germ. 

Per  cent 
germ. 

Check 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100  lbs 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

200  lbs 

50 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

300  lbs 

62 

62 

100 

100 

100 

100 

400  lbs 

0 

37 

100 

87 

100 

100 

12 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


Fertilizer  34  inch  above  the  seed  and  soil  at  14-5  moisture 


Fertilizer  34  inch  above  the  seed  and  soil  at  21.75%  moisture 


Fertilizer  )4  inel 


moisture 


moisture 


itzer  \v 


lister  wr 


ii  iwmm.  i»- 


Check  100  lbs.  .200  lbs.  '500  lbs.  400  lbs. u 


FIG.  4 — THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  MOISTURE  CONTENT  OF  MIAMI  SILT 
LOAM  ON  THE  EFFECT  OF  2-12-2  FERTILIZER  APPLIED  IN  THE  HILL 
AS  INDICATED  ON  THE  GERMINATION  OF  CORN 

The  rates  of  fertilizer  application  on  the  acre  basis  are  given  at  the  bottom 
of  the  last  series.  These  rates  apply  in  the  same  order  to  all  six  series  above. 
The  higher  the  moisture  content  the  less  the  effect  of  the  fertilizer  on  germ- 
ination. 


Fertilizers 


13 


moisture 


Fertilizer  with  seed  and  soil. at 


V 


Check 


1 00  lbs. 


200  IV) 


FIG.  5— THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  MOISTURE  CONTENT  OF  PLAINFIELD 
SAND  ON  THE  EFFECT  OF  2-12-2  FERTILIZER  APPLIED  IN  THE  HILL  AS 
INDICATED  ON  THE  GERMINATION  OF  CORN 

The  rates  of  fertilizer  application  on  the  acre  basis  are  given  at  the  bottom 
of  the  last  series.  These  rates  apply  in  the  same  order  to  all  six  series  above. 
The  higher  the  moisture  content  the  less  the  effect  of  the  fertilizer  on  germ- 
ination. 


14 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


moisture 


tie  seed  an 


and  soil  at  2 12. moisture 


ad  soil  at  28 2.00; 


moisture 


lizer  vv 


inoistui 


i IB  r- 

Check  100  lbs.  200  lbs.  500  lbs.  400  lbs. 


FIG.  6 THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  MOISTURE  CONTENT  OF  PEAT  ON  THE 

EFFECT  OF  2-12-2  FERTILIZER  APPLIED  IN  THE  HILL  AS  INDICATED 
ON  THE  GERMINATION  OF  CORN 

The  rates  of  fertilizer  application  on  the  acre  basis  are  given  at  the  bottom 
of  the  last  series.  These  rates  apply  in  the  same  order  to  all  six  series  above. 
The  higher  the  moisture  content  the  less  the  effect  of  the  fertilizer  on  germ- 
ination. 


Fertilizers 


15 


and  one-half  inch  above  the  seed  at  the  rates  of  100,  200,  300  and  400 
pounds  per  acre."  . , 

The  percentage  germination  is  indicated  in  table  V.  Figures  4,  5,  and  o 
show  the  germination  of  corn  on  the  three  soils  at  the  three  moisture 
contents  when  the  fertilizer  was  applied  in  a band  4 by  8 inches  one- 
half  inch  above  the  sfeed,  and  with  the  seed. 

From  an  examination  of  the  results  given  in  table  V it  is  at  once 
evident  that,  on  any  soil,  the  moisture  content  determines  quite  largely 
the  extent  of  the  retarding  effect  of  fertilizers  on  the  germination  of 
corn.  Not  only  was  the  percentage  germination  less  at  the  lower  mois- 
ture contents  but  the  time  required  for  germination  was  considerably 
increased.  The  greater  injurious  effects  at  the  lower  moisture  contents 
were  probably  due,  in  a large  measure,  to  the  greater  concentration  of 
salts  about  the  seed. 

As  in  the  previous  experiment,  applications  of  the  fertilizer  at  the 
same  depth  as  the  seed  were  always  more  injurious  than  applications 
one-half  inch  above  the  seed.  Not  only  was  the  percentage  germination 
reduced  but  the  time  required  for  germination  was  considerably  greater 
when  the  fertilizer  was  applied  in  direct  contact  with  the  seed.  The 
difference  caused  by  the  two  methods  of  application  was  most  notice- 
able on  the  different  soils  at  the  two  lower  moisture  contents.  With 
the  higher  moisture  content  the  two  methods  gave  about  the  same  per- 
centage germination,  although  the  time  required  for  germination  was 
greater  when  the  fertilizer  was  applied  at  the  same  level  as  the  seed. 

The  class  of  soil  is  an  important  factor  to  be  considered  in  this  con- 
nection. Both  of  the  experiments  show  that  the  injury  was  decidedly 
greatest  on  the  sand  and  least  on  the  peat.5 6 


Summary  of  Experiments  on  Germination 


The  results  show  that  there  are  at  least  four  factors  which  deter- 
mine the  effect  of  a given  fertilizer  upon  the  germination  of  corn.  These 
factors  are:  (1)  the  rate  of  application,  (2)  the  method  of  application, 
(3)  the  class  of  soil,  and  (4)  the  moisture  content  of  the  soil. 

The  results  indicate  that,  considering  both  germination  and  early 
growth,  the  best  method  of  applying  fertilizer  to  corn  is  to  spread  it 
about  one-half  to  three-fourth  of  an  inch  above  the  seed;  that  it  is 
safe  to  apply  as  much  as  150  or  200  pounds  per  acre  in  this  manner  on 
all  but  sandy  soils,  in  which  case  125  pounds  is  probably  a safe  amount; 


5The  procedure  in  this  experiment  was  the  same  as  that  in  the  previous  ex- 
periment with  the  exception  that  one-gallon  jars  were  used  in  the  case  of  the 
peat  soil.  Water  was  added  to  bring  the  soils  to  the  moisture  content  de- 
sired. The  soils  were  then  thoroughly  mixed  and  placed  in  the  jars.  This 
moisture  content  was  maintained  by  frequent  additions  of  water.  By  making 
frequent  additions,  only  a small  amount  of  ■water  was  added  to  the  surface 
at  one  time,  which  was  not  enough  to  leach  the  fertilizer  downward  around  the 
seed  and  greatly  alter  the  moisture  content  in  that  zone. 

“This  may  be  partially  explained  as  being  due  to  the  difference  in  the  con- 
centration of  salts,  which  was  greater  in  the  lighter  soils  due  to  the  lower 
water  content.  Another  factor  may  have  been  the  high  acidity  of  the  Plain- 
field  sand.  The  addition  of  a considerable  quantity  of  soluble  salts  to  a 
strongly  acid  soil  increases  the  hydrogen  iron  concentration  of  the  soil  solu- 
tion to  a considerable  extent.  The  same  salts  added  to  a neutral  soil  do  not 
have  this  effect.  Of  the  three  soils  used  the  Plainfield  sand  was  the  only  one 
that  was  strongly  acid.  The  Miami  silt  loam  was  slightly  acid  and  the  peat 
was  neutral  or  slightly  alkaline.  With  the  two  latter  soils,  the  seedlings  de- 
veloped normally  after  germination  even  when  the  soil  above  the  seed  con- 
tained considerable  fertilizer.  In  the  case  of  sand,  a number  of  the  seedlings 
did  not  develop  properly.  This  may  have  been  due  to  the  increased  hydrogen 
ion  concentration  of  the  soil  solution  produced  by  the  salts  as  well  as  to  the 
concentration  of  the  salts  in  the  solution.  Salter  and  Mcllvaine  (15)  have 
shown  that  growth  is  more  easily  affected  by  acidity  than  is  germination. 


16 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


and  that  the  fertilizer  injury  is  in  a large  measure  due  to  the  concen- 
tration of  salts  in  the  soil  solution  about  the  seed  which  prevents  the 
seed  from  absorbing  the  required  water. 

Greenhouse  Experiments  on  the  Effect  of  Fertilization  in  the  Hill  on 
the  Growth  and  Root  Development  of  Corn 

The  question  as  to  whether  or  not  fertilization  in  the  hill  causes  a 
restriction  of  root  growth  is  very  important  but  has  never  been  satis- 
factorily answered  by  experimental  evidence.  A method  of  fertilization 
which  produces  an  increased  development  of  the  above  ground  parts 
and  a weak  feeding  system  would  be  undesirable  under  many  circum- 
stances. Plants  developed  in  this  way  might  get  a favorable  start  in 
the  early  part  of  the  growing  period  but  be  unable  to  withstand  ad- 
verse conditions  of  fertility  or  drought  later. 

The  first  experiment  along  this  line  was  carried  on  in  1919  with  ten 
large  galvanized  iron  cylinders,  three  feet  in  diameter  and  two  and 
one-half  feet  in  depth,  filled  with  sandy  soil  in  a low  state  of  fertility. 

A 2-12-2  fertilizer  was  prepared  by  mixing  potassium  sulfate,  sodium 
nitrate,  and  acid  phosphate  in  the  proper  proportions,  using  fine  sand 
as  a filler.  One  hill  of  corn  was  planted  in  each  cylinder  and  the  fol- 
lowing amounts  of  fertilizer  per  acre,  assuming  3,500  hills  per  acre, 
were  applied  in  the  ways  indicated. 

Cylinders  1 and  10 — Checks,  no  fertilizer 

Cylinders  2 and  9 — 120  pounds  broadcast 

Cylinders  3 and  8 — 120  pounds  in  the  hill  and  180  pounds  broadcast 

Cylinders  4 and  7 — 300  pounds  broadcast 

Cylinders  5 and  6 — 120  pounds  in  the  hill. 

When  applied  broadcast,  the  fertilizer  was  thoroughly  mixed  with 
the  surface  three  inches  of  soil.  When  applied  in  the  hill  the  fertilizer 
was  placed  in  a band,  four  inches  wide  and  eight  inches  long,  one- 
half  inch  above  the  seed.  On  May  2,  three  germinated  seeds  were 
planted  in  the  center  of  each  cylinder  at  the  depth  of  two  inches. 

Although  the  seed  had  been  germinated  before  planting,  the  appear- 
ance of  the  plants  above  the  surface  of  the  soil  was  retarded  from  two 
to  four  days  in  the  case  of  hill  fertilization.  On  cylinders  3 and  6 only 
two  plants  reached  the  surface. 

Soon  after  the  corn  -was  up  it  was  thinned  to  the  two  best  plants'  in 
each  cylinder.  Optimum  moisture  conditions  were  maintained  during 


Table  VI. — Height  of  Corn  Planted  May  2 in  Cylinders,  With 
2-12-2  Fertilizer  Treatments  Indicated. 


Cyl. 

No. 

Extreme  height 

on  dai 

tes  indicated 

Treatment  on  acre  basis 

May 

16 

May 

21 

May 

25 

June 

2 

June 

9 

June 

13 

June 

16 

June 
16  (Ave.) 

Cm. 

Cm. 

Cm. 

Cm. 

Cm. 

Cm. 

Cm. 

Cm. 

Check,  no  fertilizer... 

1 

21 

28 

33 

50 

64 

84 

99 

10 

24 

32 

38 

60 

77 

93 

106 

102.5 

120  lbs.  broadcast:... 

2 

22 

29 

34 

50 

64 

80 

100 

9 

22 

31 

37 

57 

75 

96 

112 

106.0 

120  lbs.  in  the  hill  and  180  lbs. 

3 

26 

36 

52 

93 

120 

147 

163 

broadcast 

8 

19 

30 

40 

76 

100 

125 

138 

150.5 

300  lbs.  broadcast 

4 

21 

29 

32 

50 

65 

83 

102 

7 

22 

31 

40 

69 

87 

110 

129 

115.5 

120  lbs.  in  the  hill 

5 

27 

40 

49 

89 

110 

138 

153 

6 

24 

33 

42 

86 

no 

135 

155 

154.0 

Fertilizers 


17 


the  experiment.  The  comparative  rate  of  growth  was  determined  by 
measuring,  on  several  dates,  the  distance  from  the  surface  of  the  soil 
to  the  top  of  the  longest  leaf  in  each  cylinder.  Table  VI  gives  the 
growth  in  centimeters  on  the  different  dates'. 


Check,  bo  fertiliser 


is.  hill  aci  ISO  lbs.  broadcast 


FIG.  7— THE  GROWTH  AND  ROOT  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CORN  ON  A POOR 
SANDY  SOIL  WITH  2-12-2  FERTILIZER  TREATMENTS  INDICATED 
Hill  fertilization  has  not  restricted  root  growth. 


Although  fertilization  in  the  hill  delayed  the  appearance  of  the  plants 
above  the  surface  of  the  soil,  these  plants  soon  made  more  rapid 
growth  than  those  on  the  checks  or  where  broadcast  applications  were 
made.  An  application  cf  120  pounds  broadcast  caused  very  little 
increased  growth  but  the  same  amount  applied  in  the  hill  caused  in- 


18 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


creased  growth  and  produced  a much  more  healthy  and  vigorous  plant. 
It  is  probable  that  the  plants  receiving  the  fertilizer  broadcast  would 
have  made  a better  showing  had  they  been  permitted  to  grow  to  matur- 
ity. ; ' ' 

On  June  16  most  of  the  soil  was  carefully  washed  from  the  roots  in 
one  set  of  cylinders,  namely,  1 to  5 inclusive.  The  plants  were  suspend- 
ed by  means  of  strings  and  photographed  to  show  the  root  develop- 
ment as  well  as  the  top  growth.  Figure  7 shows  the  results  on  all  ex- 
cept cylinder  4,  where  the  plants  made  even  poorer  growth  than  on 
cylinder  2,  receiving  the  smaller  broadcast  application.  This  figure 
gives  a very  good  indication  of  root  growth  and  distribution  as  well  as 
top  growth.  The  weights  of  green  roots  and  tops  are  gvien  in  table  VII. 


Table  VII. — Weights  of  Green  Corn  Roots  and  Tops  With  Treat- 
ments Indicated 


Cyl. 

No. 

Treatment  on  acre 
basis 

Weight 
of  tops 

Weight 
of  roots 

Total 

weight 

Per  cent 
roots 

Grams 

Grams 

Grams 

1 

Check,  no  fertilizer.... 

71.5 

29.0 

100.5 

28.9 

2 

120  lbs.  broadcast  

84.0 

20.0 

104.0 

19.3 

3 

120  lbs.  in  the  hill.... 

& 180  lbs.  broadcast 

441.0 

95.0 

536.0 

17.3 

4 

300  lbs.  broadcast  

54.0 

16.0 

70.0 

22.9 

5 

120  lbs.  in  the  hill 

394.7 

| 66.0 

1 . 

460.7 

14.3 

Fertilizer  applied  in  the  hill  greatly  increased  the  weight  of  tops. 
When  applied  broadcast,  the  fertilizer  produced  little  or  no  beneficial 
effect  up  to  the  time  the  crop  was  harvested.  Hill  fertilization  also 
greatly  increased  the  weight  of  roots  over  that  produced  without  fertili- 
zation or  broadcast  fertilization.  The  fertilizer  in  the  hill  did  not 
cause  the  roots  to  become  localized  around  the  fertilizer  and  prevent 
them  from  extending  widely  in  all  directions.  The  root  distribution 
was  as  good  or  better  than  on  the  unfertilized  cylinder  or  those  re- 
ceiving the  broadcast  treatment.  The  percentage  weight  of  the  roots 
based  on  the  total  weight  of  the  plant,  was  highest  on  the  check  and 
lowest  with  the  fertilizer  applied  in  the  hill. 

The  plants  in  cylinders  6 to  10  inclusive  were  allowed  to  continue  their 
growth  but  were  so  severely  damaged  by  insects  that  no  further  re- 
sults were  taken. 

The  second  experiment  was  carried  on  in  1920,  with  six  of  the  large 
cylinders  used  the  preceding  year.  The  same  poor  sandy  soil  was  used. 
The  soil  was  removed  from  all  cylinders  and  thoroughly  mixed  before 
replacing,  so  there  would  be  no  lack  of  uniformity  due  to  fertilizer 
treatments  of  the  preceding  year. 

Commercial  2-12-2  fertilizer  was  applied  as  follows: 

Cylinder  1. — Check,  no  fertilizer. 

Cylinder  2. — 400  pounds  broadcast. 

Cylinder  3. — 120  pounds  one-half  inch  above  the  seed. 

Cylinder  4. — 120  pounds  one-half  inch  below  the  seed. 

Cylinder  5. — 120  pounds  one-half  inch  above  the  seed  and  280  pounds 
broadcast. 

Cylinder  6. — 120  pounds  one-half  inch  below  the  seed  and  280  pounds 
broadcast. 


Fertilizers 


19 


The  fertilizer  was  applied  as  described  in  the  preceding  experiments'. 
On  February  14,  eight  seeds  to  a cylinder  were  planted.  The  effect  on 
germination  was  of  the  same  order  as  those  previously  obtained.  Soon 
after  germination  the  corn  was  thinned  to  three  plants  per  cylinder.  The 
comparative  rate  of  growth  was  determined  as  in  the  previous  experi- 
ment and  the  results  are  given  in  table  VIII. 


Table  VIII. — Height  of  Corn  With  2-12-2  Fertilizer  Treatments 

Indicated 


Cyl. 

No. 

Treatment  on  acre 
basis 

Extreme  height  on  dates  indicated 

March  3 

March  9 

March  24 

May  10 

Cm. 

Cm. 

Cm. 

Cm. 

1 

Check,  no  fertilizer  .... 

19.0 

20.5 

34.5 

71.0 

2 

400  lbs.  broadcast  

21.5 

29.0 

39.5 

96.5 

3 

120  lbs.  above  seed 

21.5 

32.0 

60.0 

142.0 

4 

120  lbs.  below  seed.... 

19.0 

32.0 

60.0 

145.0 

5 

120  lbs.  above  seed 
& 280  lbs.  broadcast 

18.0 

26.5 

52.0  j 

1 

127.0 

6 

120  lbs.  below  seed 
& 280  lbs.  broadcast.. 

1 

18.0  ; 

1 

1 

26.5  | 

4 

53.5  j 

124.5 

On  June  19  the  soil  was  carefully  removed  from  the  roots  and  photo- 
graphs made  of  the  root  systems.  Since  the  photographs  show  the 
same  results  as  those  given  in  figure  7 they  have  been  omitted  and  only  the 
weights  are  given.  Table  IX  gives  the  weights  of  dry  roots  and  tops. 


Table  IX. — Weights  of  Dry  Corn  Roots  and  Tops  Produced  With  the 
Treatments  Indicated 


Cyl. 

No. 

Treatment  on  acre 
basis 

Weight 
of  tops 

Weight 
of  roots 

Total 

weight 

Per  cent 
roots 

Grams 

Grams 

Grams 

1 

Check,  no  fertilizer  .... 

75.0 

4.5  - 

79.5 

5.7 

2 

400  lbs.  broadcast  

215.0 

8.7 

223.7 

3.8 

3 

120  lbs.  above  seed.... 

258.0 

11.5 

1 

269.5 

l 

4.3 

1 

4 

120  lbs.  below  seed.... 

1 

208.0 

11.8 

219.8 

5.4 

5 

120  lbs.  above  seed 
& 280  lbs.  broadcast 

223.0 

9.0 

232.0 

3.9 

6 

120  lbs.  blow  seed 
& 280  lbs.  broadcast 

207.0  | 

1 

8.0 

215.0 

3.7 

20 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


The  results  are  similar  to  those  obtained  the  preceding  year.  The  ap- 
plication of  120  pounds  per  acre  in  the  hill,  above  or  below  the  seed, 
gave  the  best  growth  and  the  earliest  formation  of  tassels  and  ears.  The 
use  of  280  pounds'  broadcast,  in  addition  to  120  pounds  in  the  hill,  had 
a retarding  effect  on  growth  and  maturity.  This  retardation  of  growth 
became  less  marked  during  the  latter  part  of  the  growing  season.  The 
plants  in  cylinde  2,  receiving  400  pounds  broadcast,  made  a slow  growth 
and  were  the  last  to  mature.  However,  they  made  gqod  growth  during 
the  latter  part  of  the  growing  period  and  at  the  time  of  harvesting 
were  nearly  equal  to  the  plants  in  any  of  the  cylinders. 

The  application  of  120  pounds  per  acre  in  the  hill  above  the  seed, 
with  or  without  the  additional  application  of  280  pounds  broadcast,  gave 
a slightly  greater  yield  of  tops  than  a similar  application  below  the  seed. 
The  greatest  weight  of  roots  was  secured  by  the  application  of  120 
pounds  in  the  hill  either  above  or  below  the  seed.  When  an  additional 
280  pounds  was  broadcasted,  the  root  weight  was  decreased  and  there 
was  no  increase  in  the  weight  of  the  tops.  The  broadcast  application 
gave  roots  of  considerably  less  weight  than  did  the  hill  applications, 
and  the  extent  and  distribution  of  the  roots  was  no  greater.  The  high- 
est percentage  of  roots,  with  the  exception  of  the  check,  was  secured 
by  fertilization  in  the  hill.7 


Summary  of  Greenhouse  Experiments  on  the  Effect  of  Different  Meth- 
ods of  Applying  Fertilizer  on  the  Growth  and  Root 
Development  of  Corn 


1.  Experiments  on  this  subject  were  carried  on  for  two  seasons  in  the 
greenhouse  using  large  cylinders  filled  with  a poor  sandy  soil. 

2.  Fertilization  in  the  hill  produced  the  most  rapid  growth,  greatest 
weight  of  roots  and  tops,  and  the  earliest  maturing  corn. 

3.  Broadcast  fertilization  gave  a slower  growth,  later  maturing  crop, 
smaller  weight  of  roots  but  almost  as  great  a total  weight  at  maturity 
as  did  hill  fertilization. 

4.  The  extent  and  distribution  of  roots  was  just  as  great  with  fertil- 
ization in  the  hill  as  with  fertilizer  applied  broadcast. 

5.  When  broadcast  application  was  made  in  addition  to  the  regular 
hill  application,  growth  and  maturity  were  delayed,  and  the  root  weight 
was  smaller  than  with  the  hill  application  alone,  but  the  weight  of  tops 
was  about  the  same. 


Field  Experiments  with  Corn  in.  1919  and  1829  on  Effect  of  Various 
Fertilizers  Applied  in  Different  Ways  on  Maturity  and  Yield 

Field  experiments  with  corn  were  planned  to  study  several  problems: 
viz.,  (1)  methods  of  applying  fertilizer,  (2)  effect  of  different  form  of 
nitrogen  in  a complete  fertilizer,  (3)  and  the  effect  of  different  fertilizer 
mixtures  on  germination,  root  growth,  maturity,  and  yield.  Broadcast 


7These  results  differ  in  certain  respects  from  those  secured  the  preceding 
year.  In  this  experiment  the  broadcast  fertilization  caused  a marked  increase 
in  weight  of  roots  over  the  check,  while  the  preceding  year  there  was  a de- 
crease due  to  broadcast  fertilization.  The  weight  of  tops  also  was  very  greatly 
increased  by  the  broadcast  treatment  ■while  the  preceding  year  there  was  no 
increase.  These  differences  and  also  the  smaller  percentage  of  the  total  weight 
formed  by  the  roots  are  probably  due,  in  large  measure,  to  the  fact  that  in 
the  latter  experiment  the  corn  was  harvested  at  maturity  (125  days  after 
planting)  while,  the  preceding  year  it  was  harvested  45  days  after  planting. 
Hie  longer  growing  period  permitted  the  plant  to  take  advantage  of  the  broad- 
casted fertilizer  after  its  roots  had  become  more  fully  developed. 


Fertilizers 


21 


fertilization  was  compared  with  applications  in  the  hill  and  in  the  drill 
row.8 

In  1920  a detailed  field  experiment  was  started.  The  plots  were  a 
part  of  a nine-acre  corn  field  which  had  been  in  corn  the  preceding 
year.  The  soil  was  a strongly  acid  Carrington  silt  loam  which  had 
been  cropped  rather  heavily  for  some  years  without  the  application  of 
manure  or  fertilizer.  Except  for  one  low  spot  the  part  of  the  field  used 
was  fairly  uniform.  The  area  used  was  divided  into  a north  series  and 
south  series  of  plots.  Each  series  consisted  of  60  one-fortieth  acre 
plots  which  extended  north  and  south  and  were  just  wide  enough  for 
two  rows  of  corn.  The  south  series  received  farm  manure  at  the  rate 
of  8 tons  per  acre  just  before  plowing  but  the  north  series  received  no 
manure. 

The  treatments  of  the  plots  are  detailed  in  table  X.  Fertilization  in  the 
hill,  except  below  the  seed,  was  accomplished  by  means  of  a fertilizer 
attachment  to  the  corn  planter  which  applied  the  fertilizer  in  a band  4 
by  8 inches,  Yz  to  inch  directly  over  the  seed.  Broadcast  treatments 

were  made  by  hand  and  the  fertilizer  worked  into  the  soil  by  discing 
four  days  before  planting.  Applications  in  the  hill  below  the  seed  were 
made  as-  follows : A hole  about  four  inches  deep  was  made  with  a hoe 
and  the  fertilizer  placed  in  the  hole  and  covered  with  one  and  one-half 
inches  of  soil.  The  seed  was  then  placed  in  the  hole  and  covered  with 
two  and  one-half  inches  of  soil.  Fertilization  in  the  drill  row  was  ac- 
complished by  means  of  the  fertilizer  attachment  to  the  corn  planter 
which  applied  it  in  a continuous  band  3 to  4 inches  wide  and  to  Y\ 
inch  above  the  seed. 

On  May  25  and  26,  plots  1 to  51  were  planted  to  Golden  Glow,  a med- 
ium early  corn.  Plots  52  to  60  were  planted  to  Silver  King,  a later 
maturing  corn,  but  a heavy  yielder.  It  was  thought  that  proper  fertili- 
zation might  hasten  maturity  enough  to  appreciably  reduce  the  danger 
of  frost  injury  especially  to  the  latter  corn. 

Notes  and  Data  on  Growth  and  Maturity:  Germination  was  not  ap- 

preciably retarded  by  any  of  the  methods  of  fertilization  in  the  hill. 
Early  growth  was  considerably  better  on  the  fertilized  than  on  the 
check  plots,  and  the  2-12-2  applied  in  the  hill  was  giving  the  best 
growth.  In  every  case  the  hill  applications  were  better  than  the  drill 
row  or  broadcast  applications.  There  was  no  difference  between  the 
applications  in  the  hill,  above,  and  below  the  seed.  Of  the  forms  of 
nitrogen  used  ammonium  sulfate  seemed  to  be  slightly  the  best. 

There  were  heavy  rains  on  June  13,  14,  15  and  16.  The  unmanured  end 
of  plots  21  to  38  inclusive  were  partly  under  water  for  two  or  three  days. 
As  a result  these  plots  were  seriously  injured  and  were  discarded. 

By  the  early  part  of  July  there  were  considerable  differences  in 
growth  due  to  the  fertilizers.  The  best  plots  were  those  which  re- 
ceived 120  or  200  pounds  of  2-12-2  in  the  hill.  Heavy  broadcast  appli- 
cations of  fertilizer  also  gave  decidedly  better  results  than  the  checks. 
Acid  phosphate  at  the  rate  of  180  pounds  per  acre  was  giving  a decided 
increased  growth  when  applied  in  the  hill.  Of  the  forms  of  nitrogen 
used,  ammonium  sulfate  and  the  nitrogen  in  commerical  2-12-2  were 


8The  first  experiment  was  conducted  in  1919.  However,  the  field  selected 
proved  to  lack  uniformity  and  to  be  too  fertile  for  the  most  satisfactory  re- 
sults. The  experiment  indicated  that  with  a silt  loam  soil  there  is  no  danger 
of  fertilization  in  the  hill  causing  injury  to  germination  if  the  fertilizer  is 
correctly  applied.  Of  the  methods  of  application  tried,  that  in  the  hill  gave 
the  largest  increases  in  yield. 

The  unfertilized  plots  gave  an  average  yield  of  57.45  bushels  of  ear  corn  and 
4,132  pounds  of  dry  stover  per  acre.  The  fertilized  plots  gave  an  average 
yield  of  62.22  bushels  of  corn  and  4,456  pounds  of  stover  per  acre.  This  is  an 
average  increase  of  4.77  bushels  of  grain  and  324  pounds  of  stover.  Some  of 
the  plots  receiving  120  pounds  to  the  acre  of  2-12-2  fertilizer  in  the  hill  pro- 
duced an  increase  of  as  much  as  10  bushels  of  grain  and  500  pounds  of  dry 
stover  per  acre. 


Table  X. — Yields  of  Corn  Secured  With  Fertilizer  Treatments  Indicated  in  1920.  Abbreviations  used  in  table  are 
I.  H.  A.  S.  for  in  hill  above  seed;  I.  H.  B.  S.  for  in  hill  below  seed;  I.  D.  A.  S.  for  in  drill  above  seed;  Be.  for 
broadcast  and  N.  for  nitrogen.  Fertilizers  marked  commercial  were  commercially  prepared  and  mixed.  Those  marked 
with  a special  form  of  nitrogen  were  hand  mixed.  The  first  51  plots  were  planted  to  Golden  Glow  Corn;  the  last  9 
to  Silver  King  Corn.  


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24 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


giving  the  best  results.  The  manure  caused  an  increased  growth  on 
the  unfertilized  plots.  However,  with  the  best  fertilizer  plots'  the 
manured  and  unmanured  series  were  about  the  same.  The  manure  had 
caused  very  little  increased  growth  over  that  produced  by  the  fertilizer 
alone. 

During  the  latter  part  of  July  a count  was  made  of  the  number  of 
hills  in  silk  and  in  tassel.  This  indicated  that  maturity  had  been  hast- 
ened to  a considerable  extent  by  fertilization.  The  checks'  on  the  un- 
manured series  were  about  10  to  25  per  cent  in  tassel,  while  the  fertiliz- 
ed plots  were  75  to  100  per  cent  in  tassel.  On  the  manured  series  the 
checks  were  75  to  100  per  cent  in  tassel  and  the  fertilized  plots  100  per 
cent.  The  most  silks  and  tassels  were  found  on  the  plots  receiving  the 
complete  fertilizer,  2-12-2.  Acid  phosphate  hastened  silking  but  not 
as  much  as  when  it  was  used  with  nitrogen  or  potash.  With  Silver 
King  corn,  2-12-2  and  3-10-4  seemed  to  be  hastening  maturity  to  a 
very  considerble  extent. 

The  season  was  very  dry  thus'  giving  an  excellent  opporunity  to 
study  the  effect  of  drought  upon  corn  which  had  been  fertilized  in  the 
hill.  If  fertilization  in  the  hill  restricts  root  growth,  it  should  also 
cause  the  corn  to  suffer  from  drought.  There  was  a five-week  period 
in  July  and  August  in  which  there  was  only  one-tenth  of  an  inch  of 
rain.  This  was  right  at  the  time  when  corn  uses  the  most  water,  and 
is  the  most  critical  period  in  relation  to  moisture.  The  lack  of  rain  un- 
doubtedly reduced  the  yield  of  all  plots,  but  there  was  not  at  any  time 
any  indication  that  the  plots  which  received  fertilizer  in  the  hill  suffer- 
ed any  more  from  drought  than  the  unfertilized  plots  or  those  which 
received  fertilizer  applied  broadcast.  The  corn  on  all  the  plots  suffered 
to  some  extent,  but  the  ears'  on  the  plots  which  received  hill  applica- 
tions were  longer  and  better  filled  out  than  those  on  the  unfertilized 
plots.  Therefore,  it  seems  evident  that  root  growth  was  not  restricted 
by  fertilization  in  the  hill.  The  results  in  the  field  are  in  entire  agree- 
ment with  those  obtained  in  the  greenhouse  with  the  large  cylinders. 

As  a further  test  of  the  effect  of  fertilization  on  maturity,  twenty  of 
the  plots  were  sampled  for  moisture  determinations  on  September  28. 
The  samples  were  obtained  by  taking  the  ears  of  every  tenth  hill  in  the 
plot.  This  gave  a sample  of  from  five  to  eight  pounds  of  ear  corn.  The 
corn  was  weighed  at  once,  then  placed  in  sacks  and  hung  up  in  a warm, 
well-ventilated  room  to  dry.  At  the  end  of  five  weeks  it  was  taken 
down  and  weighed  and  the  percentage  of  moisture  determined.  The 
results  are  tabulated  in  table  XI. 

The  moisture  content  of  the  corn  on  the  fertilized  plots'  was  in  al- 
most all  cases  lower  than  that  of  the  adjoining  check  plots.  The  3-10-4 
fertilizer  applied  in  the  hill  on  the  late  corn  caused  the  greatest  decrease 
in  moisture  content  compared  to  the  check,  decreasing  it  from  39.3 
per  cent  to  23.7  per  cent  on  the  unmanured  soil  and  from  37.0  per  cent 
to  31.2  per  cent  on  the  manured.  The  form  of  nitrogen  in  the  2-12-2 
fertilizer  seemed  to  effect  maturity  some,  as  is  indicated  by  the  percent- 
age of  moisture  in  the  ear  corn.  The  corn  from  plot  17  receiving 
2-12-2  fertilizer  with  nitrogen  in  the  form  of  (NH^aSQ*  contained  less 
moisture  than  that  from  adjoining  plots  receiving  the  same  application 
of  2-12-2  fertilizer  but  with  nitrogen  in  the  form  of  NaN03  or  blood 
meal.  The  nitrogen  in  the  commercial  2-12-2  was  not  as  effective  in  this 
respect  as  was  the  (NH^SCX  The  same  relation  holds  on  both  the 
manured  and  unmanured  series'.  Acid  phosphate  alone  hastened  matur- 
ity some,  as  is  indicated  by  the  percentage  of  moisture  in  the  ear  corn. 

On  the  unmanured  series  2-12-0  hastened  maturity  more  than  0-12-2  or 
0-12-4,  while  on  the  manured  series  the  reverse  order  wa§  found.  The 
results  obtained  by  this  method  of  indicating  maturity  gave  the  same 
general  indications  as  a study  of  the  time  of  silking. 


Fertilizers 


25 


The  corn  was  cut  and  shocked  by  October  6.  It  was  husked  and  the 
grain  and  stover  weighed  separately  about  a month  later.  The  yield  of 
ear  corn  and  stover  are  given  in  table  X. 

Discussion  of  Yields:  When  plots  4 and  20  are  excluded,  the  yields 

of  the  check  plots  indicate  that  the  field  was  fairly  uniform.  The  yield 
on  plot  4 is  low  due  to  the  fact  that  when  planting,  the  planter  was 
not  working  well,  and  one  row  had  to  be  replanted  on  June  1.  Plot  20 
gave  a poor  yield  due  to  water  injury. 

Acid  phosphate  gave  relatively  small  increases  of  grain  and  stover. 
Applications  in  the  hill  gave  better  results  than  broadcast  application. 

Commercial  2-12-2  gave  excellent  results  when  applied  in  the  hill  at 
the  rate  of  120  or  200  pounds  per  acre.  Plot  9 on  the  unmanured  series 
which  received  120  pounds  in  the  hill  gave  an  increase  of  17  bushels  of 
corn  and  820  pounds  of  stover.  This  is  an  increase  of  45  and  43  per  cent 
respectively  over  the  unfertilized  plots.  On  the  manured  series  the  in- 
crease was  14  bushels  of  grain  and  900  pounds  of  stover.  Theses  results 
would  be  very  profitable  with  normal  prices  for  grain  and  fertilizer. 


Table  XI. — Percentage  of  Moisture  in  Ear  Corn  With  Treatments 
Indicated.  All  Fertilizer  Treatments  Included  in  This 
Table  Were  Applied  in  the  Hill  Above  the  Seed 


Plot 

No. 

Pounds  per  acre  and  kind  of 
fertilizer 

Moisture 

in  corn 

Unmanured  series 
Per  cent 

Manured  series 
Per  cent 

Golden  Glow  Corn 

3 

90,  0-16-0  : 

34.4 

38.9 

4 

Check  

35.9 

37.8 

6 

180,  0-16-0  

31.8 

32.2 

8 

Check  

35.3 

34.3 

9 

120,  2-12-2  commercial  mix 

33.5 

32.9 

16 

Check  

34.6 

37.6 

17 

200,  2-12-2,  N as  Am.  sulfate 

27.7 

30.4 

18 

200,  2-12-2,  N as  So.  nitrate 

32.3 

33.2 

19 

200,  2-12-2,  N as  Blood  meal  

32.0 

32.8 

20 

Check  

32.4 

38.7 

43 

Check  

38.6 

36.7 

44 

200,  0-12-2,  commercial  mix 

33.4 

32.7 

45 

200,  2-12-0,  commercial  mix 

32.1 

36.0 

46 

200,  0-12-4,  commercial  mix 

35.5 

33.8 

47 

Check  

41.5 

36.1 

Silver  King  Corn 


52 

| Check  

| 39.3 

40.2 

53 

j 200,  2-12-2,  commercial  mix  

1 41.3 

38.3 

58 

Check  

39.4 

38.4 

59 

200,  3-10-4,  commercial  mix 

23.7 

31.2 

60 

Check  

39.2 

35.6 

Two  hundred  pounds  of  2-12-2  gave  results  of  the  same  order  as  120 
pounds.  The  results  indicate  that  the  120  pound  application  on  this 
soil  is  more  desirable  and  profitable.  It  probabily  furnishes  about  all 
the  additional  phosphorous  the  corn  plant  can  utilize.  Possibly  if  a 
fertilizer  containing  a higher  percentage  of  nitrogen  and  potassium  were 
used,  heavier  applications  would  prove  more  desirable.  If  the  applica- 
tions are  made  broadcast  or  in  the  drill  row,  the  rate  of  application  must 
be  increased. 

Of  the  forms  of  nitrogen  in  the  complete  fertilizer,  ammonium  sulfate 
or  nitrogen  in  the  commercial  2-12-2  gave  the  best  results,  but  the 
differences  were  not  large. 


26 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


The  0-12-2,  2-12-0,  and  0-12-4  gave  very  similar  results.  On  the  un- 
manured series  the  yields'  of  stover  with  these  three  fertilizers  were 
practically  the  same,  although  the  2-12-0  did  give  a somewhat  smaller 
yield  of  corn  than  the  other  two.  On  the  manured  series  the  grain 
yields  were  the  same,  but  2-12-0  gave  400  pounds  less  stover. 

With  Silver  King  corn  the  best  results  were  obtained  with  the  3-10-4. 
This  gave  an  increase  of  20.2  bushels  of  corn  and  1,210  pounds  of 
stover  on  the  unmanured  series.  On  the  manured  series  the  increase 
was'  17.3  bushels  of  corn  and  760  pounds  of  stover.  This  fertilizer  was 
also  very  effective  in  hastening  the  maturity,  especially  on  the  unman- 
ured series. 


Summary  of  Field  Experiment  with  Corn  in  1920 

1.  Germination  on  a silt  loam  soil  was  not  appreciably  retarded  by  the 
proper  application  of  120  or  200  pounds  of  mixed  fertilizer  in  the  hill. 

2.  Fertilizers,  especially  2-12-2  and  3-10-4,  decidedly  increased  the 
early  growth  of  the  corn. 

3 Maturity  was  hastened  a week  or  more  by  proper  fertilization.  The 
most  marked  effect  was  with  3-10-4  on  the  late  corn.  The  2-12-2  and 
acid  phosphate  also  hastened  maturity. 

4.  Applications  in  the  hill  gave  better  results  than  those  made  in  the 
drill  row  or  by  the  broadcast  method. 

5.  Nitrogen  as  found  in  commercial  2-12-2  and  especially  as  ammonium 
sulfate  produced  slightly  better  growth  and  higher  yields  than  the  other 
forms  of  nitrogen  when  used  in  a complete  fertilizer. 


Field  Experiments  with  Corn  in  1921 

In  1921  a field  was  selected  on  the  University  Hill  Farm  for  carrying 
on  fertilizer  experiments  with  corn  similar  to  the  previous  year.  The 
soil  is  a silt  loam  in  a good  state  of  fertility.® 


Field  Experiments  With  Corn  in  1922  on  Use  of  Fertilizer 

In  1922  fertilizer  experiments  with  corn  were  conducted  on  several 
fields.  One  of  these  fields  was  on  a fertile  Miami  silt  loam  on  the 
Hill  Farm,  where  the  experiment  of  1921  had  been  conducted.  The 
field  had  been  in  clover  the  previous  year  and  received  an  application  of 
12  tons  of  manure  before  being  plowed  for  corn.  The  corn  (Wisconsin 
No.  7)  was  planted  May  20,  and  the  fertilizer  in  the  hill  was  applied 
with  an  attachment  on  the  corn  planter.  Table  XII  gives  the  treatments 
applied  and  the  yields. 

Hill  applications'  proved  to  be  superior  to  broadcast  applications  both 
as  regards  growth  during  the  growing  season  and  final  yields.  August 
was  very  dry,  and  the  corn  on  the  fertilized  plots  ripened  more  rapidly 
than  on  the  unfertilized  plots.  Early  September  rains  gave  the  check 
plots  quite  an  advantage  over  the  fertilized  ones,  since  the  leaves  of 
the  plants  on  the  unfertilized  plots'  were  still  green,  and  the  corn  was 
able  to  utilize  the  water,  and  thus  make  additional  growth.  However, 


“The  yields  in  this  test  did  not  indicate  any  marked  benefit  from  the  use 
of  fertilizers  regardless  of  the  method  of  application.  There  may  have  been 
several  reasons  for  this.  First,  the  soil  was  a silt  loam  in  a high  state  of 
fertility,  producing  on  some  check  plots  over  70  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre, 
which  may  have  been  near  the  maximum  possible,  under  the  existing  weather 
conditions  of  that  season.  While  not  conclusive,  the  results  indicate  that  it 
does  not  pay  to  fertilize  corn  on  a soil  as  fertile  as  this.  It  is  possible,  how- 
ever, that  with  a more  favorable  season  and  more  intensive  cultivation,  it 
might  be  profitable  to  use  fertilizer  on  this  soil. 


Fertilizers 


27 


this  additional  growth  did  not  overcome  the  lead  secured  by  the  fer- 
tilized corn  earlier  in  the  season. 

The  corn  was  cut  and  shocked,  and  at  the  time  of  husking,  the  mois- 
ture content  of  the  check  plots  was  from  2 to  7 per  cent  higher  than 
that  of  the  fertilized  plots,  indicating  an  appreciable  effect  of  the  fer- 
tilizer on  maturity.  The  increases  due  to  fertilizer  treatment  were  not 
large,  but  the  best  producing  treatment  which  was  120  pounds  of  3-10-4 
in  the  hill,  netted  an  increase  in  value  of  corn  and  stover  of  four  to  five 
dollars  per  acre.  Broadcast  application  of  fertilizer  produced  very 
little  increase..  Lack  of  moisture  was  a limiting  factor  at  certain  stages, 
otherwise  greater  increases  might  have  resulted  from  the  use  of  fer- 
tilizers. 

A second  experiment  was  conducted  on  a Plainfield  sandy  loam 
near  Mazomanie,  Wisconsin.10 

A third  experiment  was  conducted  on  a Miami  silt  loam  at  the  Men- 
dota  State  Hospital  Farm.  This  experiment  compared  fertilizer  applica- 
tion in  the  hill  below  the  seed  with  application  in  the  hill  above  the  seed. 
The  plots  consisted  of  100  hills  each  and  the  planting  and  fertilizer  ap- 
plication were  made  by  hand.  The  fertilizer  was  applied  in  a thin  band 
4 inches  by  8 inches  either  one-half  inch  above  or  below  the  seed  as  the 
case  required.  On  June  6 the  fertilized  corn  was  about  twice  the  size 
of  the  unfertilized,  and  the  application  above  the  seed  seemed  to  have  a 
slight  advantage.  The  results  of  this  experiment  are  given  in  table  XIII. 

The  fertilized  plots  had  been  distinctly  superior  to  the  surrounding 
corn  during  the  whole  growing  season,  and  the  yields  showed  an  increase 
of  22  bushels  per  acre  due  to  fertilization.  This  experiment  shows 
what  a marked  result  may  be  produced  by  the  use  of  a small  amount  of 
fertilizer  if  it  is  properly  applied.  In  this  case,  it  did  not  make  much 
difference  whether  the  fertilizer  was  applied  above  or  below  the  seed. 
Since  application  above  the  seed  is  more  easily  made,  especially  with  a 
planter,  it  is  probably  the  more  desirable  method. 

A fourth  experiment  was  conducted  on  a neutral  peat  soil  on  the 
Home  Acres  Farm  near  Madison.  The  potassium  chloride  was  applied 
by  hand  around  the  corn  hills  as  soon  as  the  corn  came  up.  The  0-10-10 
fertilizer  was  applied  with  an  attachment  on  the  corn  planter.  The  corn 
on  the  fertilized  plots  grew  rapidly  from  the  start,  and  produced  an  en- 
ormous growth  of  stalks.  The  unfertilized  corn  grew  poorly  from  the 
start.  The  yields  are  given  in  table  XIV. 

The  results  indicated  a great  lack  of  potash  and  phosphate  in  this  soil, 
and  show  strikingly  what  a small  amount  of  fertilizer  may  do  in  a 
case  of  this  kind  when  applied  properly  in  the  hill*  The  cost  of  the 
0-10-10  treatment  which  increased  the  yield  60.9  bushels  per  acre  was 
about  $2.60  per  acre. 

A fifth  experiment  was  conducted  on  a medium  acid  Carrington  silt 
loam  on  the  Kayser  Farm  near  Madison.  The  field  had  been  in  oats 
the  previous  year.  The  Golden  Glow  variety  of  corn  was  planted.  The 
fertilizers'  were  applied  with  an  attachment  on  the  corn  planter.  None 


jInj^ls  experiment,  different  fertilizer  mixtures,  different  forms  of  nitrogen 
and  different  methods  of  application  were  compared.  The  fertilizer  treat- 
ments were  beginning  to  show  by  the  first  of  July,  but  unfortunately,  a long 
drought  of  five  weeks  occurred  in  July  and  August  which  caused  water  to  be 
the  limiting  factor  and  only  slight  increases  were  produced  bv  fertilization, 
several  important  points  were,  however,  suggested  by  this  experiment.  The 
soil  was  very  acid,  and  it  seems  that  the  use  of  ammonium  sulfate  and  potash 
saits  in  considerable  amounts  in  the  hill  liberated  so  much  soluble  acidity 
that  nitrification  was  markedly  decreased  which  affected  the  corn  adversely. 
This  same  effect  had  been  noticed  on  other  occasions  when  large  amounts  of 
potash  were  applied.  A detailed  consideration  of  this  matter  is  given  on  page  50. 


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Fertilizers 


29 


of  the  treatments  retarded  germination  appreciably.  The  different  treat- 
ments and  yields  are  given  in  table  XV. 

The  soil  showed  a decided  response  to  phosphate  fertilization.  A 
300  pound  broadcast  application  of  fertilizer  did  not  produce  as  much 
increase  as  a much  lesser  amount  applied  in  the  hill. 

A number  of  the  fertilizer  treatments  in  the  hill  produced  marked  and 
profitable  returns.  Due  to  the  fact  that  the  soil  was  acid  and  in  rather 
poor  physical  condition,  and  that  the  cultivation  was  insufficient  to 
properly  keep  down  the  weeds,  the  yields  were  probably  kept  down 
and  the  results  of  fertilization  decreased. 

A number  of  very  interesting  and  important  points  were  raised  by 
this  experiment,  similar  to  those  noted  on  page  27,  relative  to  the  effect 
of  high  amounts'  of  potash  and  ammonium  saults  in  decreasing  the 
yields  under  certain  conditions.  To  illustrate  : an  0-12-2  produced  a vig- 
orous growth,  while  an  0-12-4  produced  no  response;  when  nitrogen 


Table  XIII. — Yields  of  Corn  Secured  with  Treatments  Indicated  in 
1922  on  Miami  Silt  Loam  on  Mendota  State  Farm 


Amount  per  acre 
and  kind  of  fertilizer 

Method  of  application 

Yield 

per  acre 

Bu  grain 

Lbs.  stover 

180  lbs.  2-12-2  

In  hill  above  seed 

54.6 

2600 

180  lbs.  2-12-2  

In  hill  below  seed 

' 54.3 

2525 

diprlf  

32.1 

1550 

was  supplied  with  the  high  potash,  the  fertilizer  produced  a response ; 
in  a 2-12-2  fertilizer,  nitrogen  as  ammonium  sulfate  was  superior  to 
nitrate,  while  in  a 4-10-2  the  reverse  was  true.  These  results  may  be 
explained  as  follows : High  amounts  of  potash  salts  or  ammonium 

sulfate  on  acid  soils  liberate  so  much  soluble  acidity  that  nitrification 
and  other  bacterial  activity  is  hindered.  If  available  nitrogen  is  applied 
along  with  high  amounts  of  potash,  the  detrimental  effect  of  the  high 
potash  is  overcome  due  to  the  crop  not  having  to  depend  on  nitrification 
for  available  nitrogen. 


Table  XIV. — Yields  of  Corn  Secured  with  Treatments  Indicated 
in  1922  on  Peat  Soil  on  Home  Acres  Farm 


Amount  per  acre 

Method  of  application 

Yield 

per  acre 

and  kind  of  fertilizer 

Bu  grain 

Lbs.  stover 

Check  

19.6 

2395 

100  lbs.  KC1  

In  hill  above  seed 

64.4 

5005 

135  lbs.  0-10-10  

In  hill  above  seed 

80.5 

5298 

Field  Experiments  with  Corn  in  1923  on  Use  of  Fertilizers 

In  1923,  corn  experiments  to  test  the  use  of  different  fertilizers  in  the 
hill  were  conducted  on  a Carrington  silt  loam  on  the  Kayser  Farm  near 
Madison,  on  a Miami  silt  loam  on  the  Johnson  Farm,  also  near  Madison, 
and  on  a Plainfield  Sand  on  the  Bower  and  Walton  Farm  near  Arena, 
Wisconsin.  Unfortunately,  the  season  was  rather  unfavorable  for  corn, 
and  a frost  September  13,  killed  all  the  corn  before  it  was  ripe.  All 
three  fields  had  been  manured,  and  increases  from  the  use  of  fertilizer 
with  the  best  treatments  ranged  from  5 to  12  bushels  per  acre.  Phos- 


Table  XV. — Yields  of  Corn  Secured  With  Fertilizer  Treatments  Indicated,  in  1922  on  Carrington  Silt  Loam,  on 
Kayser  Farm.  (Abbreviations  used  in  table  are,  N.  for  nitrogen;  Am.  Sul.  for  ammonium  sulfate;  So.  Nit.  for 
sodium  nitrate;  Bl.  Ml.  for  blood  meal;  I.  H.  A.  S.  for  in  hill  above  seed;  I.  D.  A.  S.  for  in  drill  above  seed;  Be. 
for  broadcast.) 


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Fertilizers 


31 


phate  and  potash  produced  the  most  marked  effect  on  the  Carrington 
and  Miami  silt  loam.  On  the  Plainfield  sand  a 2-12-2  fertilizer  pro- 
duced the  best  results ; high  amounts  of  potash  on  this  sandy  sou 
hindered  germination. 

Field  Studies  on  the  Effect  of  Hill  Application  of  Fertilizer  on  Root 
Development  of  Corn 

The  purpose  of  these  studies  was  to  determine  if  hill  application  of 
different  fertilizers  on  corn  in  the  field  caused  any  restriction  or  local- 
ization of  root  growth.  These  studies  were  made  on  the  fertilizer  test 
plots  of  the  Hill  Farm.  Kayser  Farm,  Mendota  Hospital  Farm,  and 
Parman  Farm,  described  on  pages  27  and  29.11 

The  results  of  these  studies  are  similar  to  those  of  the  greenhouse 
studies  reported  on  pages  16,  17,  18,  and  19,  in  that  the  application  of 
180  pounds  or  less  of  fertilizer  in  the  hill  above  or  below  the  seed  did 
not  restrict  root  development.  Nitrogen  applied  in  the  hill  stimulated 
the  development  of  numerous  fine  roots'  around  the  base  of  the  plant 
near  where  the  fertilizer  was  applied,  but  did  not  lessen  the  number 
and  length  of  large  roots  which  developed.  Large  applications  of 
fertilizer  in  the  hill  (200  pounds  and  over)  seemed  to  result  in  a de- 
creased size  of  the  vertical  roots,  but  in  an  increased  number  of  these. 

Influence  of  Fertilizers  in  Protecting  Young  Corn  Against  Freezing 

It  has  been  noticed  on  several  occasions,  in  the  field,  that  young  un- 
fertilized corn  froze,  while  the  fertilized  did  not.  The  reason  for  this 
was  investigated,  and  the  results  are  briefly  stated  here.  The  details 
of  this  investigation  are  published  elsewhere.* 

It  is  well  known  that  the  greater  the  concentration  of  dissolved  ma- 
terials in  a liquid,  the  lower  is  the  temperature  at  which  the  liquid 
freezes.  From  this  it  follows  that  if  the  application  of  fertilizers  in- 
creases the  concentration  of  dissolved  materials',  such  as  salts  and 
sugar,  in  the  plant  sap,  then  such  application  should  lower  the  temper- 
ature at  which  the  plant  freezes.  It  was  found  that  the  sap  of  young 
corn  plants,  grown  in  the  greenhouse  and  fertilized  in  the  hill,  had  a 
higher  osmotic  pressure  than  the  unfertilized  ones.  It  was  also  found 
that  the  fertilized  plants  froze  at  a temperature  of  1°  to  2°  C.  lower 
than  the  unfertilzed  plants,  when  placed  in  a cold  chamber.  This  fact 
may  be  of  considerable  importance  in  corn  production  in  northern  lati- 
tudes, especially  on  peat  and  other  low  lands,  where  there  is  danger  of 
late  spring  frosts.  Frost  may  occur  quite  late,  and  corn  planted  late 
enough  to  escape  these  frosts  has  a very  short  growing  period  and 
may  not  mature.  Such  soils  generally  need  fertilization,  and  it  may  be 
that  the  fertilizer  will  actually  serve  two  purposes ; namely,  (a)  it  will 
serve  as  a source  of  plant  food,  and  (b)  it  will  increase  the  osmotic 
pressure  of  young  plants  sufficiently  to  markedly  decrease  danger  of 
freezing.  Oftentimes,  as  the  temperature  drops  during  a frost,  it  is 
retarded  in  its  rate  of  fall  after  it  reaches  zero,  due  to  the  heat  given 
off  by  the  freezing  of  free  water  and  of  water  in  plants  which  freeze 


“A  total  of  25  hills  of  corn  were  carefully  washed  out  and  examined.  Four 
hills  of  corn  were  removed  according  to  the  method  of  King  and  Ten  Eyck 
and  the  roots  in  situ  placed  on  exhibition  in  wire  cages.  The  other  plants 
were  handled  as  follows:  A trench  was  dug  3 Yi  feet  wide  and  3 feet  deep 
about  6 inches  from  the  center  of  the  corn  hill.  By  means  of  a pressure 
pump,  water  was  directed  against  the  side  of  the  trench  next  to  the  hill  un- 
til the  soil  was  washed  out  of  an  area  about  2 feet  wide,  3 feet  deep  and  1 
or  5 inches  thick.  This  left  the  roots  very  nearly  in  their  natural 
position  for  photographing.  During  the  washing  process  a careful  study  was 
made  of  the  development  of  the  root  system. 

*Jour.  Am.  Soc.  Agron.,  V.  17,  p.  517-526,  1925 


32 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


at  only  a slightly  lower  temperature  than  free  water.  When  the  frost 
is  not  too  severe,  and  there  is  present  a considerable  supply  of  easily 
frozen  plant  material  and  water,  the  temperature  may  be  prevented 
from  dropping  more  than  a degree  or  so  below  zero  due  -to  the  heat 
given  off  by  easily  fozen  water.  Plants  which  freeze  at  several  degrees 
below  zero  would  not  be  frozen  under  such  conditions.  Medium  heavy 
applications  of  fertilizer,  especially  when  applied  in  the  hill  so  that  the 
fertilizer  is  in  position  to  produce  an  immediate  effect,  may  lower  the 
freezng  point  of  young  corn  plants  one  to  two  degrees,  and  thus1  save 
the  crop  when  it  would  otherwise  be  frozen.  Aside  from  increasing 
yields,  the  proper  use  of  fertilizers  may  thus  protect  the  young  corn 
plants  from  being  frozen  unless  the  frost  be  too  severe,  and  in  addition, 
hasten  growth  and  maturity  and  thus1  also  lessen  danger  of  freezing  at 
the  other  end  of  the  growing  period. 

THE  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  CORN  FERTILIZATION 

Corn  is  a crop  that  responds  quickly  to  fertilization  and  offers  many 
possibilities  in  the  way  of  special  fertilization  due  to  the  fact  that  it  is 
grown  in  hills  and  rows.  Corn  should  of  course  be  grown  in  a rotation, 
and  the  basal  supply  of  phosporus  and  potassium  for  all  the  crops  in  the 
rotation  should  be  maintained  by  a broadcast  application  of  manure  and 
fertilizers.  The  basal  supply  of  nitrogen  should  be  maintained  by  the 
use  of  manure  and  the  growing  of  legumes. 

There  are  several  reasons,  however,  why  corn  especially  in  northern 
latitudes,  may  well  receive  additional  special  fertilization  in  the  hill  or 
drill  row  besides  the  basal  fertilization  mentioned.  This  does  not  apply 
to  dairy  farms  which  may  have  soils  of  great  natural  fertility  and  which 
regularly  receive  heavy  applications  of  manure.  The  reasons  just  refer- 
red to  are  : (1)  Corn  is  a plant  with  a larger  capacity  to  produce  grain 
and  forage  than  the  other  grain  plants,  and  hence,  should  receive  addi- 
tional fertilization ; (2)  corn,  being  a cultivated  crop,  makes  it  very  de- 
sirable that  it  grow  rapidly  from  the  start  in  order  that  cultivation  may 
begin  advantageously  before  the  weeds  get  well  started ; and  (3)  since 
its  growing  season  is  limited  by  frosts,  it  is  highly  desirable  that  it  grow 
and  mature  as  rapidly  as  possible.  The  experiments  which  have  been 
described  indicate  that  fertilization  in  the  hill  produces'  these  conditions 
and  results  to  better  advantage  than  broadcast  fertilization,  for  the 
amount  of  fertilizer  needed,  and  hence,  the  investment  is  not  so  great 
and  the  loss  of  nitrogen  is  much  less. 

The  broadcast  application  of  a mixed  fertilizer,  containing  readily 
available  nitrogen,  to  corn  before  or  at  the  time  of  planting  is  bad 
practice.  In  many  cases’  most  of  the  nitrogen  applied  in  this  way  is  lost 
by  leaching  before  the  root  system  develops  sufficiently  to  utilize  it.  If 
readily  available  nitrogen  is  to  be  applied  broadcast  it  should  be  done 
after  the  corn  is  well  started.  Phosphorus  and  potassium,  however, 
suffer  very  little  loss  from  leaching  and  broadcast  applications  of  fer- 
tilizers containing  these  should  be  made  before  the  corn  is  planted, 
and  the  fertilizer  should  be  thoroughly  mixed  and  worked  into  the  soil 
in  order  to  give  the  best  results. 

Nitrogen  applied  in  the  form  of  ammonium  sulfate  suffers  much  less 
by  leaching  than  when  applied  in  the  form  of  the  nitrate.  This1  is  be- 
cause the  ammonium  radicle  is  fixed  in  the  soil  in  the  same  way  as 
potassium,  while  the  nitrate  radicle  is  not  fixed  due  to  the  fact  that  it 
does  not  form  insoluble  compounds  with  the  soil.  For  delayed  surface 
fertilization  after  the  corn  is  well  started,  the  nitrate  is  ideal  since  it 
is  quickly  carried  into  the  soil  to  the  roots  by  rain.  For  fertilization  at 
the  time  of  planting,  the  ammonium  sulfate  has  usually  given  better  re- 
sults than  the  nitrate  even  when  applied  in  the  hill,  indicating  that  even 
with  this  method  of  fertilization  there  is  loss  of  the  nitrate  form.  If 


Fertilizers 


33 


commercial  fertilizer  containing  readily  available  nitrogen  is  to  be  ap- 
plied before  or  at  the  lime  of  planting  corn  it  should  always  be  applied 
in  the  hill  or  drill  row  and  never  broadcast. 

The  experiments  thus  far  conducted  have  not  given  any  indication 
that  fertilization  in  the  hill  causes  a restriction  or  localization  of  the 
roots.  It  causes  an  increased  growth  of  tops  and  makes  possible  larger 
yields.  There  is'  no  question  but  what  this  increased  growth  increases 
the  amount  of  water  needed,  and  in  this  manner  fertilization  in  the  hill 
or  in  any  other  way  that  makes  the  corn  grow  larger  may  make  it  suf- 
fer from  drought  sooner.  The  experiments  conducted  on  silt  loam  soils 
have,  however,  given  no  evidence  of  damage  in  this  way  even  during 
seasons  of  prolonged  drought.12 

Soil  Surface  ^ 


T 


FIG.  8— THE  CORRECT  METHOD  OF  APPLYING  FERTILIZER  AT  THE  HILL 

FOR  CORN 

(A)  indicates  fertilizer  spread  in  a band  4 inches  by  8 inches  and  placed 
24  inch  directly  above  the  seed.  (B)  indicates  seed  planted  2 inches  below 
surface. 


In  connection  with  hill  fertilization  of  corn  the  question  is  often 
asked : Does  not  hill  fertilization  act  merely  as  a stimulant  causing 

the  plant  to  feed  more  heavily  on  the  soil  and  resulting  ultimately  in  a 
depleted  soil?  This  may  be  answered  as  follows:  Fertilization  in  the 

hill  furnishes  real  plant  food  material  the  same  as  any  other  method  of 


12One  case  on  a sandy  loam  was  observed  in  which  300  to  400  pounds 
per  acre  of  2-12-2  fertilizer  was  applied  in  the  drill  row'  with  drilled  corn. 
This  produced  an  enormous  growth  of  forage.  At  the  time  when  the  corn  was 
earing  out,  a severe  drought  set  in  and  affected  the  corn  so  much  that  it  was 
cut  prematurely  and  put  in  the  silo.  Corn  on  the  same  farm  on  more  sandy 
soil  but  less  heavily  fertilized  did  not  suffer  nearly  as  much  and  produced 
good  mature  corn.  There  is  thus  danger  of  applying  too  much  fertilizer  in 
this  way  especially  on  sandy  soils.  A larger  crop  than  what  the  soil  can 
ordinarily  furnish  water  for  should  not  be  started  by  an  excessive  use  of 
fertilizers.  Some  sections  of  the  country,  especially  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and 
Missouri  suffer  quite  regularly  from  periods  of  drought  and  hot  winds  dur- 
ing July  and  August,  and  hence,  special  care  must  be  taken  to  not  produce 
too  excessive  early  growth  from  the  use  of  fertilizers  in  the  hill  or  drill  row'. 

There  is  another  objection  in  using  too  much  fertilizer  in  the  hill  or  drill 
row'  in  that  the  corn  does  not  use  nearly  all  of  it,  which  causes  a patchy  ana 
streaky  growth  of  a succeeding  grain  crop.  This  patchy  and  streaky  effect 
has  not  been  noticed  when  only  100  to  200  pounds  per  acre  of  fertilizer,  the 
amount  recommended,  has  been  used  in  the  hill. 


34 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


fertilization,  it  causes  the  plant  to  develop  quickly  and  feed  through 
the  whole  soil  mass.  In  this  way  the  plant  is  enabled  to  absorb  nitro- 
gen which  has  been  made  available  through  decomposition  and  nitrifi- 
cation of  organic  matter  and  which  would  otherwise  be  partly  lost  by 
leaching.  It  thus  tends  to  conserve  the  nitrogen  by  storing  it  up  in 
plants,  making  possible  its  return  in  the  form  of  plant  residues'  and 
manure.  In  the  case  of  phosphorus,  the  application  of  150  pounds  per 
acre  of  2-12-2  fertilizer  furnishes  one  half  as  much  phosphorus  as  is  re- 
quired by  a 65  bushel  crop  of  corn.  This  is  a considerable  addition,  and 
if  only  the  stalks  were  returned  it  would  practically  maintain  the  phos- 
phorus supply  as  far  as  the  corn  crop  is  concerned.  If  the  corn  were 
all  fed  and  the  manure  returned  the  supply  would  be  increased.  In  the 
case  of  potassium,  the  drain  on  the  soil  is  undoubtedly  increased,  but 
this  is  not  objectionable  since  the  supply  in  the  soil  is  usually  large  and 
since  nearly  three  fourths  of  what  is  used  can  be  returned  by  merely  re- 
turning the  stalks.  If  either  the  stalks  alone  are  returned,  or  the  whole 
crop  is  fed  and  the  manure  is  returned,  the  revolving  fund  of  readily 
available  potassium  is  thereby  increased. 

MACHINERY  FOR  APPLYING  FERTILIZER  TO  CORN 

The  broadcast  application  of  fertilizers  is  easily  made  with  a fertilizer 
distributor,  manure  spreader,  or  by  hand.  An  important  and  essential 


FIG.  9— AN  EXCELLENT  FERTILIZER  ATTACHMENT  FOR  A CORN  PLANTER 

(A)  Fertilizer  hopper.  (R)  Fertilizer  spout.  (C)  Lid  which  opens  by  drop- 
ping and  allows  fertilizer  to  fall.  (D)  Shoe  on  to  which  fertilizer  drops  and 
then  spreads  out  and  strings  along.  The  shoe  also  prevents  the  fertilizer  from 
coining  in  contact  with  the  seed. 


Fertilizers 


35 


step  in  this  connection  which  is  often  neglected  is  the  thorough  mixing 
and  working  of  the  fertilizer  into  the  soil. 

The  results  that  may  be  obtained  from  the  use  of  commercial  fertili- 
zers in  the  hill  or  drill  rowr  with  corn  depend  so  largely  on  the  way  in 
which  the  fertilizer  is  applied  that  the  machinery  which  is  used  for  this 
purpose  should  always  receive  special  attention.  There  are  really  only 
one  or  two  makes  of  double  row  corn  planters  that  have  fertilizer  at- 
tachments which  apply  the  fertilizer  in  a way  that  makes  good  results 
possible.  In  the  case  of  hill  applications  some  apply  the  fertilizer  pretty 
much  in  a mass  either  ahead  or  back  of  the  seed.  This  is  obviously 
not  a good  method.  It  may  cause  an  unbalanced  growth  at  the  side 
where  the  fertilizer  is  applied.  It  also  permits'  considerable  opportun- 
ity for  loss  of  nitrogen  if  this  element  is  applied.  Others  apply  the 
fertilizer  too  much  in  a mass  directly  over  or  in  contact  with  the  seed. 
This  is  very  bad  since  it  greatly  retards  or  even  stops  germination  and 
results  in  poor  stands.  The  best  method  is  to  have  the  fertilizer  spread 
in  a band  about  4 inches  wide  and  8 inches  long  from  to  ^ inch  di- 
rectly above  the  seed  as  is  indicated  in  figure  8.  Figure  9 shows  an  at- 
tachment that  applies  it  in  this  way.  It  has  a shoe  (D)  on  to  which 
the  fertilizer  falls  when  the  lid  (C)  opens  by  dropping.  This  shoe  causes 


FIG.  10— A COMBINATION  GRAIN  AND  FERTILIZER  DRILL  WHICH  AP- 
PLIES THE  FERTILIZER  IN  DRILLS  WITH  SEED,  IN  DRILLS  ABOVE  THE 
SEED,  OR  BROADCAST 

The  front  half  of  the  hopper  is  for  grain  and  the  back  half  for  fertilizer. 
The  two  fertilizer  spouts  at  the  left  marked  (A)  are  adjusted  to  carry  the 
fertilizer  into  the  grain  spouts  where  it  falls  with  the  grain.  The  two  at  the 
right  marked  (B)  are  adjusted  to  deposit  the  fertilizer  in  the  drills  above  the 
seed.  In  broadcasting,  the  fertilizer  is  allowed  to  drop  directly  from  the 
fertilizer  hopper  openings. 


36 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


the  fertilizer  to  spread  out  and  string  along  and  allows  a Yz  to  £4  inch 
layer  of  dirt  to  fall  between  the  seed  and  the  fertilizer.  In  the  case  of 
drill  row  application,  the  lid  (C)  is  kept  open  and  the  fertilizer  drops  in 
a continuous  stream  on  to  the  shoe  (D)  which  causes'  it  to  spread  out 
and  prevents  it  from  coming  in  direct  contact  with  the  seed. 

When  fertilizer  is  applied  in  the  way  indicated,  germination  is  not  re- 
tarded appreciably,  and  the  fertilizer  is  placed  in  position  to  promote 
a rapid  and  well  balanced  growth.  There  is  little  opportunity  for  loss 
of  nitrogen  since  the  roots  soon  completely  permeate  the  soil  below  the 
fertilizer. 

Delayed  germination  and  poor  results  from  hill  application  of  fertili- 
zers on  corn  are  due  almost  entirely  to  improper  methods  of  application, 
and  hence,  the  importance  of  the  proper  method,  just  explained,  cannot 
be  too  strongly  emphasized. 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  OATS* 

In  the  experiments  with  oats,  the  plots  were  usually  a part  of  a large 
field  of  grain.  The  plots  were  usually  6^2  feet  wide  (one  drill  width) 
and  extended  across  the  field.  In  several  instances  plots  of  two  drill 
widths  were  used.  The  seeding  was  made  with  a combination  grain  and 
fertilizer  drill  which  had  attachments  for  applying  the  fertilizer  in  the 
drill  row  with  the  seed,  in  the  drill  row  above  the  seed,  and  broadcast. 
It  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  10.  When  applied  with  the  seed  the  fertilizer 
went  into  the  grain  tube  with  the  seed.  When  applied  above  the  seed, 
the  fertilizer  went  down  a special  fertilizer  tube  which  conducted  it  into 
the  drill  furrow  and  allowed  a small  amount  of  soil  to  cover  the  seed 
before  the  fertilizer  dropped.  A broadcasting  devise  consisting  of 
special  fertilizer  tubes  with  spreaders  at  the  bottom  was  used  to  prevent 
blowing  of  the  fertilizer  when  applied  broadcast.  The  fields  were 
harrowed  after  seeding.13 

Experiments  With  Oats  in  1920 


This  experiment  was  conducted  on  a field  which  is  in  a regular  ro- 
tation of  clover,  corn  and  oats.  The  previous  year  it  was  in  corn  and 
had  been  manured  at  the  rate  of  ten  tons  per  acre.  The  soil,  a Miami 
silt  loam,  was  in  a good  state  of  fertility  as  was  shown  by  the  high 
yields  secured  on  the  untreated  plots. 

The  plots  were  seeded  April  16.  The  Kherson,  and  early  oat,  was 
planted.  In  this  experiment  every  other  plot  was  a check  and  received 
no  fertilizer.  Table  XVI  gives  in  detail  the  fertilizer  treatments  of  the 
49  plots. 

Notes  on  growth  and  maturity:  The  fertilizer  applications  did  not 

retard  germination  in  any  case.  The  fertilized  plots  soon  produced  a 
decidedly  better  growth  than  the  unfertilized  ones,  and  those  fertilized 


•Some  of  these  experiments  were  conducted  in  cooperation  with  T3.  D.  Leith 
of  the  Agronomy  Department. 

13It  was  not  practicable  to  harvest  the  entire  plot  in  order  to  secure  the 
yield,  so  McCall’s  sampling  method  (11)  was  used.  Five  areas,  each  one-five 
thousandths  of  an  acre,  were  harvested  from  each  plot  at  fixed  intervals.  The 
five  samples  from  a plot  were  tied  into  a bundle  and  hung  up  in  a room  until 
air  dry.  After  weighing  the  bundles  the  grain  was  threshed  by  means  of  a 
small  power  thresher  and  the  yield  of  grain  determined.  The  yield  of  straw 
was  determined  by  difference.  This  method  makes  possible  the  harvesting 
and  threshing  of  a large  number  of  plots  with  a minimum  amount  of  labor, 
and  when  properly  done,  it  seems  to  give  reliable  results.  When  the  grain  is 
lodged  to  a considerable  extent  the  method  is  not  very  satisfactory. 


Fertilizers 


37 


with  3-10-4,  and  2-12-2  were  producing  the  best  growth.  Of  the  differ- 
ent forms  of  nitrogen  in  the  2-12-2  fertilizers,  sodium  nitrate  gave  the 
best  results  in  the  early  stages  of  growth.  There  were  not  noticeable 
differences  between  applications  with  the  seed  and  above  the  seed.  The 
broadcasted  plots  were  better  than  the  untreated  plots,  but  were  not  as 
good  as  those  receiving  fertilizer  applications  in  the  drill  row  either  with 
or  above  the  seed. 

By  June  16  about  80  per  cent  of  the  oats  on  plots  10,  12,  14  and  16 
had  headed  out  while  on  the  adjoining  checks  not  over  5 per  cent  of  the 
oats  were  headed  out.  Figure  11  shows  the  marked  difference  between 
plots  9 and  10  at  this  time.  The  plots  receiving  acid  phosphate  and 
2-12-2  above  the  seed  were  about  60  per  cent  headed  out.  The  other 
fertilized  plots  had  been  30  and  60  per  cent  headed  out  except  plots  6 


NO 

mmtze* 


FIG.  11— THE  EFFECT  OF  FERTILIZER  ON  THE  TIME  OF  HEADING  OF  OATS 

The  plot  at  the  left  received  240  pounds  of  3-10-4  fertilizer  in  the  drill  row 
with  the  seed.  The  oats  on  this  plot  matured  about  a week  earlier  than  the 
oats  on  the  unfertilized  plot  to  the  right.  Photographed  60  days  after  planting.) 

receiving  (2-0-0),  8 receiving  (0-0-2),  36  and  40  receiving  (2-12-0)  which 
were  very  little  further  advanced  than  the  checks.  Where  fertilizer  was 
applied  with  the  seed,  the  oats  headed  out  a little  sooner  than  where 
the  same  fertilizer  was  applied  above  the  seed.  Both  of  these  methods 
produced  heading  much  sooner  than  the  broadcast  applications. 

A heavy  wind  and  rainstorm  on  June  28  caused  all  of  the  oats  to 
lodge.  Two  days  later  the  oats  on  plots  receiving  2-12-2,  3-10-4,  0-12-2 
and  0-12-4  were  nearly  erect.  The  oats  on  the  untreated  plots  were 
still  badly  lodged  as  were  also  those  on  the  plots  receiving  2-0-0,  0-0-2, 
0-16-0,  and  2-12-0.  These  results  indicate  that  a complete  fertilizer  or 
one  containing  both  potash  and  phosphate  strengthens  the  straw. 
Neither  potash  or  phosphate  alone  or  phosphate  with  nitrogen  have 
this  effect.  The  oats  on  the  check  plots  never  became  erect  so  the 
difference  in  lodging  was  evident  during  the  remainder  of  the  season. 
This  difference  in  the  degree  of  lodging  would  probably  have  been 
greater  if  the  plots  had  been  wider. 

Some  fertilizer  treatments  hastened  maturity  to  a very  marked  extent. 
By  July  17  many  of  the  fertilized  plots  were  nearly  mature,  while  the 


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40 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


unfertilized  were  just  beginning  to  turn  yellow.  The  plots  receiving 
3-10-4  and  2-12-2,  either  with  or  above  the  seed,  were  a week  earlier 
in  maturing  than  the  oats  on  the  unfertilized  plots.  Acid  phosphate 
advanced  the  maturity  about  four  days,  but  nitrogen  or  potash  alone 
had  no  effect.  Potash  with  phosphate  had  a greater  effect  than  phos- 
phate alone  or  with  nitrogen.  The  fertilizer  treatments  that  hastened 
the  ripening  of  the  grain  were  the  same  as  the  ones  that  caused  it  to 
head  out  earlier. 


Discussion  of  Yields:  The  plots  were  sampled  July  24  and  25.  The 

bundles  were  weighed  and  threshed  August  24.  Table  XVI  gives  the 
yield  of  grain  and  straw  secured  with  the  fertilizer  treatments  indicated. 
The  increase  in  yield  over  the  average  of  the  two  adjoining  checks  is 
also  given. 

An  examination  of  table  XVI  shows  that  in  many  instances'  fertili- 
zation gave  a considerable  increase  in  yield  and  that  the  field  was  in  a 
good  state  of  fertility.  The  twenty-three  unfertilized  plots  gave  an 
average  yield  of  73.1  bushels  of  grain  and  2,707  pounds  of  straw  per 
acre.  The  average  yield  for  the  twenty-three  fertilized  plots  was  81.5 
bushels'  of  grain  and  2,978  pounds  of  straw.  This  is  an  average  increase 
of  8.4  bushels  and  271  pounds.  The  average  increase  in  the  ten  best 
fertilized  plots  was  12.4  bushels  of  grain  and  302.3  pounds  of  straw. 

The  yields  of  grain  indicate  that  the  application  of  a complete  fertiliz- 
er above  the  seed  is  better  than  with  the  seed.  These  two  methods  of 
application  were  used  with  four  different  2-12-2  fertilizers  and  in  each 
case  the  application  above  the  seed  gave  a greater  increase  than  the  ap- 
plication with  the  seed  as  is  shown  in  table  XVli. 


Table  XVII. — The  Effect  of  Form  of  Nitrogen  in  a 2-12-2  Fertilizer 
and  Method  of  Application  on  the  Yield  of  Oats  when  200 
Pounds"  per  Acre  was  Used 


Form  of 
nitrogen 

Applied  above  the  seed 

Applied  with  the  seed 

Yield  per 
acre 

Increase  over 
check 

Yield  per 
acre 

Increase  over 
check 

Bu. 

Bu. 

Bu. 

Bu. 

NaN03 

93.8 

23.4 

83.9 

11.3 

(NH4)2  so4 

86.3 

14.6 

79.1 

9.6 

Blood  meal 

83.8 

10.2 

77.0 

1.9 

Commercial 

83.8 

10.2 

76.1 

1.0 

Table  XVII  also  affords  a comparison  of  the  effects  of  different 
forms  of  nitrogen  in  a 2-12-2  fertilizer.  The  nitrogen  in  2-12-2  fertilizer 
was  supplied  in  four  different  forms ; namely  sodium  nitrate, 
ammonium  sulfate,  blood  meal,  and  nitrogen  as  found  in  a commercial 
fertilizer.  The  nitrogen  in  the  commercial  2-12-2  was  mostly  in  an  or- 
ganic form,  probably  as  tankage.  The  sodium  nitrate  was  the  best 
form  of  nitrogen  when  applied  either  above  or  with  the  seed.  Plot  24 
which  received  200  pounds  of  2-12-2  above  the  seed  with  nitrogen  as 
sodium  nitrate,  gave  the  largest  increase  of  any  plot.  The  increase  in 
grain  was  32  per  cent  and  the  increase  in  straw  was  25  per  cent.  The 
ammonium  sulfate,  blood  meal  and  nitrogen  in  commercial  2-12-2  rank 
after  sodium  nitrate  in  the  order  named  when  the  increase  in  the  yield 
of  grain  is  the  basis  of  comparison.  The  last  two  forms  gave  practical- 
ly the  same  increase. 


Fertilizers 


41 


The  yields  of  straw  do  not  show  the  same  differences  as  the  yields 
of  grain.  The  form  of  nitrogen  in  the  fertilizer  seems  to  affect  the 
yield  of  straw  to  a considerable  extent.  With  the  nitrogen  as  blood  meal, 
the  largest  increase  of  straw  was  secured  when  the  application  was 
made  with  the  seed.  With  the  nitrogen  as  nitrate  of  soda,  the  largest 
increase  was  obtained  when  the  application  was  made  above  the  seed. 
The  method  of  application  did  not  affect  the  yield  of  straw  greatly 
when  the  other  forms  of  nitrogen  were  used. 

Plot  37  receiving  2-12-0  and  plots  39  and  41  receiving  0-12-2  gave 
practically  the  same  yield  and  about  the  same  increase  as  was  secured 
from  the  use  of  commercial  2-12-2.  When  the  amount  of  potash  was 
increased  to  0-12-4  the  results  were  somewhat  poorer.  Plots  43  and  45 
which  received  0-12-4  gave  only  an  average  increase  of  4.1  bushels  of 
grain  and  73  pounds  of  straw. 

When  the  fertilizer  constituents  were  used  singly,  acid  phosphate 
gave  the  best  results.  Sodium  nitrate  gave  a slight  increase  and  potas- 
sium chloride  alone  reduced  the  yield  of  both  grain  and  straw. 

This  experiment  indicates  that  fertilization  of  oats  on  a soil  in  a 
good  state  of  fertility  may  be  profitable,  and  that  fertilization  may  have 
a number  of  desirable  physiological  effects  on  the  plant.  The  results 
emphasize  the  importance  of  the  proper  method  of  application. 

The  season  was  very  favorable  for  the  best  growth  of  oats.  There 
was  an  abundance  of  rain  in  June.  The  rainfall  in  July  was  light  and 
the  weather  conditions  were  ideal  for  the  ripening  of  the  crop.  No 
doubt  the  seasonal  factor  is  important  but  just  how  important  and  the 
direction  of  its  influence  on  an  experiment  of  this  kind  is  unknown 
at  present.  Therefore,  one  should  be  very  careful  in  drawing  conclu- 
sions from  one  year’s'  results  of  an  experiment  of  this  nature. 


Experiment  With  Oats  in  1921 

This'  experiment  was  conducted  on  a field  adjoining  the  one  used  for 
the  oat  experiment  the  preceding  year.14 


Experiments  With  Oats  in  1922 

In  1922  fertilizer  test  plots  similar  to  previous  years  were  carried  on 
with  oats  at  the  Hill  Farm  on  a Miami  silt  loam,  at  the  Kayser  Farm  on 
a Carrington  silt  loam,  and  at  the  Mendota  State  Hospital  on  a Miami 
silt  loam. 

On  the  Hill  Farm  the  untreated  plots  yielded  60  bushels  per  acre  which 
was  probably  near  the  maximum  production  possible  under  the  weather 
conditions  of  the  season.  As  a result,  fertilization  produced  only  a 
slight  increase. 

On  the  Kayser  Farm  the  oats  rusted  very  badly  just  as  they  were 
filling,  and  the  yields  were  greatly  reduced.  However,  the  fertilized 

14The  rotation  on  this  field  is  clover,  corn,  and  oats.  The  field  was  in  a 
higher  state  of  fertility  than  the  one  used  in  1920,  having  been  quite  heavily 
manured  the  previous  year.  Thirty-one  plots  were  laid  out  in  duplicate,  using 
much  the  same  plan  of  treatments  as  the  previous  year.  A late  variety  of 
oats  was  planted  April  5. 

At  no  time  during  the  growing  season  was  there  an  appreciable  difference  in 
the  growth  of  the  oats  on  the  fertilized  and  unfertilized  plots.  The  oats  on 
all  plots  made  a very  rank  growth  during  the  early  part  of  the  growing  sea- 
son. Later,  the  season  became  very  hot  and  dry,  and  the  oats  did  very  poorly. 
They  started  lodging  over  the  entire  field  about  the  middle  of  June.  Then 
they  were  attacked  by  rust  which  became  very  bad.  By  the  latter  part  of 
June  they  were  lying  flat  on  the  ground.  The  heads  filled  scarcely  at  all.  As 
there  were  no  differences  apparent  and  since  it  would  have  been  practically 
Impossible  to  sample  for  yields  the  plots  w'ere  abandoned. 


42 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


plots  were  farther  advanced  when  the  rust  struck  and  produced  from  5 
to  7 bushels  more  per  acre.  Sodium  nitrate  proved  to  be  a better 
source  of  nitrogen  than  ammonium  sulfate. 

On  the  Mendota  State  Hospital  Farm  the  check  plots  produced 
around  30  bushels’  per  acre,  and  240  pounds  of  3-10-4  applied  in  the 
drill  row  increased  the  yield  to  43  bushels  per  acre. 

The  results  of  the  three  oat  fields  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 
Nitrate  nitrogen  proved  superior  to  ammoniacal  nitrogen ; broadcast 
application  did  not  give  as  good  results’  as  application  in  the  drill  row ; 
and  there  was  little  difference  between  application  above  or  with  the 
seed  in  the  drill  row. 


Experiments  With  Oats  in  1923 

In  1923  experiments  similar  to  those  of  the  previous  years  were  con- 
ducted with  oats  on  two  fields.  The  season  was  unfavorable  and  only 
on  one  field  were  the  returns  with  the  best  treatments  sufficient  to  pay 
for  the  cost  of  the  fertilizer.  Phosphates  hastened  maturity  on  one  of 
the  fields.  This  season,  nitrate  nitrogen  did  not  prove  superior  to  am- 
moniacal nitrogen. 

FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  CABBAGE  ON  THE  EF- 
FECT OF  DIFFERENT  METHODS  OF  APPLICATION  ON 
GROWTH  AND  YIELD 

Experiment  With  Cabbage  in  1919 

In  1919  an  experiment  was  conducted  with  cabbage  on  one-thirtieth 
acre  plots  on  a peat  soil  at  Home  Acres  Farm  in  cooperation  with  L. 
P.  Hanson.  The  field  had  never  been  cultivated  or  fertilized.  Pot  ex-, 
periments  with  corn  indicated  a decided  response  to  phosphorous  and 
potassium.  The  field  selected  for  the  experiment  seemed  to  be  very 
uniform  and  was  well  drained. 

The  experiment  was  planned  to  compare  broadcast  applications  of 
fertilizer  with  drill  row  applications  as  is  made  by  a cabbage  trans- 
planting machine.  The  only  fertilizer  used  was  a commercial  0-10-10. 
Broadcast  applications  were  made  at  the  rate  of  600  and  1200  pounds 
per  acre.  These  applications  were  made  just  previous  to  setting  out 
the  cabbage  and  the  fertilizer  was  thoroughly  mixed  with  the  surface 
soil  by  harrowing.  Applications  in  the  row  were  made  with  a fertilizer 
attachment  on  a transplanting  machine  at  the  rate  of  150,  300  and  450 
pounds  per  acre.  This  attachment  drops  the  fertilizer  in  a continuous 
stream  just  in  front  of  the  shovel  that  opens  the  furrow  in  which  the 
cabbage  plants  are  set.  The  packing  wheels  then  press  the  soil  con- 
taining the  fertilizer  around  the  plant.  This  assures  good  mixing  of 
the  fertilizer  with  the  soil  thereby  preventing  an  excessive  concentration 
of  the  fertilizer  about  the  roots  of  the  young  plant. 

The  cabbage  was  set  out  June  16.  The  rows  were  three  feet  apart, 
and  the  cabbage  was  set  about  two  to  two  and  one-half  feet  in  the  row. 
There  were  about  160  plants  to  the  plot.  It  was  very  hot  at  the  time  of 
planting,  and  the  plants  wilted  rather  badly. 

Notes  on  Growth:  There  was  so  much  dry  hot  weather  the  latter 

part  of  June  and  in  July  that  the  plants  got  a rather  poor  start.  How- 
ever, by  the  middle  of  July,  a beneficial  effect  due  to  the  fertilizer  was1 
evident.  The  plots  receiving  600  and  1,200  pounds  of  fertilizer  broadcast 
seemed  to  be  the  best.  By  the  latter  part  of  the  month  there  was  a 
very  decided  difference  between  the  fertilized  and  check  plots.  At  this 


Fertilizers 


43 


time  plots  1,  2,  5 and  6 were  about  equal.  It  seemed  that  the  heavier 
applications  in  the  row  did  not  promote  early  growth  as  much  as  broad- 
cast applications,  but  shortly  thereafter  differences'  were  not  apparent. 

As  the  cabbage  headed  out,  it  was  evident  that  there  would  be  marked 
differences  in  the  number  and  size  of  the  heads  on  the  different  plots. 


Table  XVIII. — Yields  of  Marketable  Cabbage,  Percentage  of  Plants 
Forming  Heads,  and  Average  Weight  of  Heads,  With  0-10-10 
Fertilizer  Treatment  Indicated 


Plot 

Fertilizer 

treatment 

Yield 
per  acre 

Percentage 
of  plants 
forming 
head 

Average 
wt.  of 
heads 

Lbs. 

Per  Cent 

Lbs. 

1 

600  lbs.  broadcast 

7380 

64.0 

2.56 

2 

1,200  lbs.  broadcast  

9120 

75.6 

2.72 

3 

Check  

4020 

48.0 

1.86 

4 

150  lbs.  in  row  

6840 

75.0 

1.90 

5 

300  lbs.  in  row 

9780  1 

87.5  | 

1 2.33 

6 

450  lbs.  in  row  

6300 

64.8 

2.06 

7 

Check  

2580 

40.0 

1.53 

1 

The  cabbage  was  cut  and  weighed  September  24th.  Only  the  heads 
were  harvested,  but  all  heads  were  cut  regardless  of  size.  The  heads 
were  trimmed  as1  for  shipment  so  the  yields  given  represent  marketable 
cabbage  except  that  many  of  the  heads  were  too  small  for  the  market. 
This  was  especially  true  of  the  heads  from  the  check  plots  The  number 
of  heads  harvested  from  each  plot  was  determined,  making  it  possible  to 
calculate  the  percentage  of  plants  forming  heads  and  the  average 
weight  of  the  heads.  The  results  are  given  in  table  XVIII. 

All  treatments  gave  good  increases  over  the  check  plots.  An  increase 
of  the  broadcast  application  from  600  pounds  to  1,200  pounds  per  acre 
produced  a decidedly  better  yield,  higher  percentage  of  heads  formed, 
and  a greater  average  weight  per  head. 

While  broadcast  applications  gave  good  results,  they  were  not  so 
economical  as  those  obtained  by  fertilization  in  the  row.  Three  hundred 
pounds  in  the  row  gave  the  highest  percentage  of  heads  and  also  the 
highest  yield  per  acre,  but  the  average  weight  per  head  was  lower 
than  with  broadcast  fertilization.  When  the  row  application  was  in- 
creased to  450  pounds,  the  yield,  percentage  of  heads,  and  weight  per 
head  decreased.  This  may  have  been  due  to  too  high  a concentration 
of  fertilizer  about  the  plant  roots.  Before  conclusions  can  be  drawn 
regarding  this  question  further  experiments  are  necessary. 


Experiment  With  Cabbage  in  1922 

In  1922  another  fertilizer  test  with  cabbage  was  made  on  the  same 
farm  as  in  1919.  The  soil  was  a neutral  peat  that  had  just  been  brought 
under  cultivation.  Broadcast  applications  of  fertilizer  were  made  be- 


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Fertilizers 


45 


fore  the  plants  were  set.  Applications  in  the  drill  row  were  made  at 
the  time  of  setting  with  an  attachment  on  the  cabbage  setter  which, 
however,  did  not  work  well  and  merely  allowed  the  fertilizer  to  fall  on 
the  ground  without  mixing  it  with  the  soil.  The  fertilizer  treatment 
and  yields  are  given  in  table  XIX. 

The  data  show  that  it  takes  much  less  fertilizer  in  the  row  to  produce 
the  same  effect  as  is'  produced  with  a broadcast  application.  Nitrogen 
did  not  increase  yields’  on  this  netural  peat.  Although  the  cabbage 
market  was  very  poor,  the  300  and  450  pound  applications  of  fertilizer 
were  profitable. 


FERTILIZER  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  POTATOES  IN  1923  TO 
TEST  THE  EFFECT  OF  DIFFERENT  METHODS  OF  FER- 
TILIZER APPLICATION  ON  STAND  AND  YIELD 

The  fertilizer  experiments  with  potatoes  on  methods  of  application 
were  conducted  on  a Plainfield  sand  on  the  Bower  and  Walton  Farm 
near  Arena,  Wisconsin.  The  field  had  been  limed  in  1922  and  cropped 
to  soybeans.  The  soil  was  in  a low  state  of  fertility.  The  planting  of 
potatoes  and  fertilizer  application  were  made  by  hand,  after  opening  a 
trench  with  a shovel  cultivator.  Fertilizer  was'  applied  in  the  following 
ways: 

(a)  Below  the  Seed. — The  fertilizer  was  spread  in  the  bottom  of 
the  furrow,  covered  with  a thin  layer  of  soil,  and  then  the  po- 
tatoes were  planted. 

(b)  With  the  Seed. — The  potatoes’  were  dropped,  and  the  fertilizer 
spread  along  with  the  potatoes  before  the  potatoes  were  covered. 

(c)  Above  the  Seed. — The  potatoes  were  dropped,  covered  with 
a thin  layer  of  soil,  and  the  fertilizer  applied. 

(d)  At  Side  of  Seed. — The  potatoes  were  planted,  a little  furrow 
was  dug  along  both  sides  of  the  row  about  from  the  seed, 
and  the  fertilizer  was  applied  in  this  furrow. 

The  fertilizer  treatments  and  yields  are  given  in  table  XX. 

Due  to  late  planting,  June  2,  a hot  dry  spell  in  July,  and  an  early 
frost  on  September  13,  the  yields  were  not  large,  but  a number  of  im- 
portant points  were  brought  out  by  the  experiment.  All  the  fertilizer 
treatments  increased  the  yield.  The  outstanding  point  of  the  experi- 
ment is  the  much  better  stand  and  also  better  average  yield  secured  with 
application  of  fertilizer  below  and  to  side  of  seed,  compared  to  appli- 
cation with  and  above  the  seed.  The  reason  for  this  is  undoubtedly 
due  to  the  tenderness  of  the  potato  sprouts.  Determinations  in  the 
laboratory  showed  that  potato  sprouts  have  a low  osmotic  pressure 
compared  to  corn  sprouts,  and  hence  in  coming  in  contact  with  soluble 
salts  lose  water  due  to  the  attraction  of  the  soluble  salts'  much  more 
rapidly  than  do  corn  sprouts.  This  causes  the  potato  sprouts  to  lose 
turgidity  and  ability  to  grow  and  push  through  the  soil,  whereas  corn 
sprouts  are  affected  little  or  not  at  all.  Corn  sprouts  can  pass  through 
a considerable  concentration  of  fertilizers.  Potato  sprouts  cannot  do 
this,  and  hence,  heavy  applications  of  fertilizers  should  never  be  made 
directly  over  the  potato  seed. 

The  field  results  are  similar  to  those  of  Coe  (4)  of  the  New  Jersey 
Station,  who  found  that  application  of  fertilizer  below  and  to  the  side 
of  the  seed  gave  the  best  results. 


Table  XX. — Yields  and  Stand  of  Potatoes  Secured  With  Fertilizer  Treatments  Indicated  on  Plainfield  Sand  in 


Fertilizers 


47 


1.  Opening  Plow.  The 
discs  at  the  front  of 
the  machine  open  two 
furrows  and  leave  a 
small  ridge  down  the 
middle  of  the  row. 


2.  Fertilizer  Tubes. 
Two  sets  of  fertilizer 
tubes  carry  the  fertiliz- 
er from  the  hopper  and 
deposit  it  in  the  fur- 
rows. 


3.  Planting  Shoe.  The 
planting  shoe  splits  the 
ridge  and  covers  the 
fertilizer,  thereby  mak- 
ing a groove  into  which 
the  seed  is  dropped,  and 
eliminating  all  danger 
of  fertilizer  coming  in- 
to contact  with  the 
seed. 


4.  Covering  Discs.  The 
discs  at  the  rear  cover 
the  seed  and  the  fertil- 
izer is  left  properly 
placed  along  both  sides 
of  the  row. 


FIG.  12— FOUR  STAGES  IN  THE  OPERATION  OF  AN  EXCELLENT  TYPE  OF 
FERTILIZER  ATTACHMENT  FOR  A POTATO  PLANTER 

The  fertilizer  is  applied  at  the  proper  depth  and  to  the  side  of  the  seed,  but 
not  in  contact  with  it  or  directly  above  it. 


48 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


Machinery  for  Applying  Fertilizer  to  Potatoes 

Potatoes  are  usually  fertilized  at  the  time  of  planting  by  means  of  a 
fertilizer  attachment  on  the  potato  planter.  The  importance  of  having 
a planter  and  attachment  which  applies  the  fertilizer  correctly  cannot 
be  too  strongly  emphasized.  The  fertilizer  should  never  be  placed 
immediately  in  contact  with  or  directly  above  the  seed.  It  should  be 
placed  along  both  sides  of  the  seed  at  about  the  same  level  as  the 
seed  and  mixed,  to  some  extent,  with  the  soil.  Fig.  12  shows  the 
operation  of  the  essential  parts  of  an  excellent  planter  and  attachment 
which  applies  the  fertilizer  in  the  way  recommended. 


THE  UTILIZATION  OF  AMMONIACAL  AND  NITRATE  NITRO- 
GEN BY  PLANTS 

Field  experiments  in  1920  indicated  that  nitrate  nitrogen  is  superior 
to  ammoniacal  nitrogen  for  oats,  while  in  the  case  of  corn  the  re- 
verse was  usually  true.  In  order  to  obtain  further  information  regard- 
ing the  forms'  of  nitrogen  best  suited  for  direct  assimilation  by  oats 
and  a few  other  plants,  greenhouse  experiments'  were  conducted.15 

In  the  present  investigation,  the  plants  were  grown  in  pure  quartz 
sand  and  supplied  with  a complete  nutrient  solution  in  which  the  form 
of  nitrogen  was  the  only  variable.  The  details  of  these  experiments 
are  not  published  here. 

In  the  first  experiment,  final  notes'  were  taken  on  all  plants  six  weeks 
after  planting.  The  results  are  summarized  in  table  XXI,  which  in- 
dicates the  relative  growth  made  by  each  crop  with  the  different 
treatments.  The  check  pot,  without  nitrogen,  is  not  included  since  in 
all  cases  the  growth  was  relatively  poor. 

In  every  case  sodium  nitrate  gave  as  good  or  better  results  than  any 
other  treatment  of  nitrogen.  A very  few  plants  did  well  on  ammonium 


15One  benefit  from  the  application  of  a complete  fertilizer  near  the  seed  is 
that  upon  germination  the  young  plant  is  surrounded  with  an  abundant  supply 
of  readily  available  nutrients,  which  makes  possible  a vigorous  early  growth. 
For  this  purpose,  it  would  seem  desirable  to  have  all  the  constituents  of  the 
fertilizer  in  a form  which  could  be  most  readily  utilized  by  the  plant.  The 
form  of  nitrogen  is  of  particular  interest  in  this  connection.  The  two  forms 
of  inorganic  nitrogen  most  frequently  used  in  fertilizers  are  ammonium  sul- 
fate and  sodium  nitrate.  The  question  at  once  arises  as  to  which  of  these  twro 
forms  will  produce  the  best  plant  growth,  particularly  in  the  early  stages. 
This  question  involves  only  the  utilization  of  ammoniacal  and  nitrate  nitro- 
gen as  such,  and  does  not  involve  the  nitrification  of  ammonium  salts  and 
resulting  effects,  all  of  which  must  be  taken  into  consideration  when  ammon- 
ium sulfate  is  applied  to  soils.  Such  changes  and  effects  are  of  great  im- 
portance in  determining  the  relative  value  of  the  two  fertilizers  when  used  in 
practice. 

A great  deal  of  field  experimentation  has  been  devoted  to  a study  of  the 
relative  value  of  sodium  nitrate  and  ammonium  sulfate.  The  results  have 
little  bearing  upon  the  present  question  for  in  the  field  there  are  many  fac- 
tors, besides  the  utilization  of  the  two  forms  of  nitrogen  by  the  plants,  that 
influence  the  results.  The  same  objection  is  true  of  pot  work  with  soils 
unless  the  soil  has  been  washed  free  of  nitrates  and  sterilized  to  prevent 
nitrification.  Even  in  sterile  soil  one  cannot  be  sure  that  the  plant  uses  only 
the  nitrogen  supplied  in  the  fertilizer.  It  may  use  some  organic  nitrogen  de- 
rived from  the  organic  matter  of  the  soil.  It  is  only  in  sterile  sand  or  solu- 
tion cultures  that  one  may  satisfactorily  control  the  form  of  nitrogen  used 
by  the  plant. 

Controlled  experiments,  using  sterile  sand  and  solution  cultures,  have  shown 
that  some  plants  make  satisfactory  growth  with  ammonium  salts  as  their  only 
source  of  nitrogen.  In  some  instances  it  has  been  found  that  certain  plants 
make  better  growth  with  ammoniacal  nitrogen  than  with  nitrate  nitrogen. 
Panatelli  and  Severini  (12),  Hutchinson  and  Miller  (9),  and  Brigham  (2) 
report  some  very  interesting  experiments  on  the  utilization  of  the  different 
forms  of  nitrogen  and  give  a very  good  review  of  the  literature. 


Fertilizers 


49 


sulfate  alone,  and  the  addition  of  calcium  carbonate  gave  little  bene- 
fit to  some  crops,  but  others  which  normally  contain  a high  per- 
centage of  calcium  were  generally  benefited.  In  almost  every  case 
the  substitution  of  sodium  nitrate  for  one-half  of  the  ammonium  sul- 
fate gave  considerably  better  results  than  the  ammonium  sulfate  alone. 
Sodium  nitrate  was  very  little  better  than  ammonium  sulfate  as  <a 
source  of  nitrogen. 


Table  XXI. — The  Relative  Growth  ofthe  Different  Crops  in  Sand 
Cultures  With  Complete  Nutrient  Solutions  Containing  the 
Forms  of  Nitrogen  Indicated. 


Crop 

(NH4)2S04 

NaN02 

JNaNOs 

(NH4)2S04 

CaCOa 

(NH4)2S04  and 
NaNOa 

Oats.  

Poor 

Good 

Excellent 

Poor 

Fair 

Sp.  wheat..  ..  

Poor 

Poor 

Excellent 

Fair 

Fair 

Barley 

Good 

Good 

Excellent 

Good 

Good 

Hemp  . . 

Poor 

Good 

Excellent 

Fair 

Good 

Corn..  

Fair 

Fair 

Excellent 

Fair 

Good 

Soybeans ..  

Fair 

Fair 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Cowpeas  

Good 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Good 

Buckwheat 

Poor 

Poor 

Excellent 

Fair 

Good 

Rape 

Poor 

Poor 

Excellent 

Fair 

Good 

Potatoes..  ..  

Poor 

Fair 

Excellent 

Fair 

Good 

Lettuce . . 

Poor 

Poor 

Excellent 

Fair 

Good 

Red  clover -.  ..  ... 

Good 

Good 

Excellent 

Good 

Good 

In  another  experiment,  oats  and  buckwheat  were  grown  with  five 
different  ammonium  salts,  namely,  the  carbonate,  the  sulfate,  the 
chloride,  the  phosphate,  and  the  nitrate  as  sources  of  nitrogen.  None  of 
these  ammonium  salts  produced  as  good  growth  as  sodium  nitrate,  al- 
though the  growth  with  ammonium  nitrate  was  nearly  equal  to  the  best 
due  undoubtedly  to  the  nitrate  radical.  In  still  another  experiment, 
oats  were  grown  in  quartz  cultures  with  different  concentrations  of  ni- 
trate and  ammoniacal  nitrogen,  and  the  nutrient  solution  was  changed 
daily  by  suction,  thus,  eliminating  nitrification  and  concentration  entirely 
as  factors.  In  all  cases  the  oats  grew  decidedly  better  on  the  nitrate 
nitrogen. 

SUMMARY 

1.  — Sodium  nitrate  produced  in  all  cases  as  good  or  better  growth 
than  ammonium  sulfate. 

2.  — Ammonium  sulfate,  with  most  plants,  produced  rather  poor  growth. 
Barley,  red  clover,  soybeans,  and  cowpeas  grew  better  than  the  other 
plants  with  ammonium  sulfate. 

3.  — In  the  case  of  oats,  any  salt  which  contains  the  ammonium  radi- 
cal seems  to  be  toxic. 

4.  — Great  caution  must  be  observed  in  applying  these  results  to  field 
practice,  since,  under  those  conditions  the  ammonium  radical  com- 
bines with  soil  acids  and  is  thus  largely  removed  from  solution.  Toxic 
action  is  thus  largely  prevented,  and  through  nitrification,  the  am- 
moniacal nitrogen  gradually  goes  over  to  nitrate  nitrogen  which  sup- 
plies the  plants  as  needed.  In  this  way,  excessive  leaching  is1  pre- 
vented and  ammoniacal  nitrogen  may  actually  prove  more  economical 
than  nitrate  nitrogen.  In  case  of  a concentrated  application  near  the 
seed,  it  is  probably  best  to  supply  the  nitrogen  in  a mixture  of  several 
forms  for  reasons  as  follows:  if  too  large  a portion  were  supplied  as 
ammoniacal  nitrogen,  toxic  action  might  result ; if  too  large  a portion 
were  supplied  as  nitrate  nitrogen,  there  might  be  excessive  leaching; 
and  if  too  large  a portion  were  supplied  in  slowly  available  organic 
form,  early  growth  might  be  delayed. 


50  Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 

SECONDARY  EFFECTS  OF  FERTILIZERS:  THEIR  EFFECTS  ON 
REACTION  OF  SOILS,  AMMONIFICATION,  AND 
NITRIFICATION 

Although  usually  ignored,  fertilizers,  aside  from  producing  favorable 
effects  by  supplying  plant  food  elements,  may  produce  what  are  con- 
veniently called  secondary  effects,  which  may  be  either  favorable  or 
unfavorable.  For  example,  the  addition  of  acid  phosphate  may  stimu- 
late nitrification  (3,  6)  and  thus  make’  more  nitrogen  available  for  plant 
growth.  On  the  other  hand,  the  addition  of  high  amounts  of  potash 
salts  and  ammonium  sulfate  may  under  certain  conditions  as  noted  on 
pages  27  and  31  produce  less  favorable  results  than  smaller  amounts  of 
these.  These  unfavorable  results  usually  occur  on  acid  soils  and  may 
be  explained  as  follows : 

The  insoluble  soil  acids  react  with  these  salts  and  liberate  an  equiva- 


Table  XXII. — Effect  of  Potassium  Chloride  and  Sulfate  on  the 
Hydrogen-ion  Concentration  of  Carrington  Silt  Loam 
and  Peat 


Treatment 
per  acre 

Carrington 

Silt  Loam 

Peat 

Soil 

One  day  after 
application 

1 month  after 
application 

One  day  after 
application 

1 month  after 
application 

Ph 

Ph 

Ph 

Ph 

Check  

5.71 

5.68 

4.58 

4.93 

200  lbs.  KC1  

5.15 

5.41 

4.82 

5.92 

800  lbs.  KC1  

5.36 

5.45 

4.64 

5.07 

233.6  lbs.  K2S04 

5.40 

5.65 

4.66 

6.15 

934.4  lbs.  K2S04 

5.29 

5.69 

4.90 

5.43 

lent  amount  of  soluble  acidity  according  to  the  following  reaction,  in 
which  the  insoluble  soil  acids  are  represented  by  the  formula  HX. 
HX  + KC1  = KX  + HC1 
2 HX  + (NH*)2  SO*  — 2 NH*X  + H2SO* 

With  high  additions  of  these  soluble  salts,  the  increased  soluble  acid- 
ity, and  hence  hydrogen  ion  concentration,  becomes  sufficient  to  be 
markedly  unfavorable  for  bacterial  activity,  especially  nitrification. 

In  order  to  determine  how  much  effect  the  addition  of  potassium 
chloride  and  sulfate  have  on  the  hydrogen-ion  concentration  of  the 
soil  in  the  way  just  explained,  the  following  experiment  was  performed. 

An  acid  Carrington  silt  loam  kept  at  a moisture  content  of  20  per 
cent  and  an  acid  peat  kept  at  a moisture  content  of  25  per  cent,  were 
treated  with  potash  salts  as  indicated  in  table  XXII  and  kept  in  the 
greenhouse.  At  periods  indicated  in  this  table,  determinations  of  the 
hydrogen-ion  concentration  were  made  and  the  results  are  recorded  in 
this  same  table. 

The  data  show  that  one  day  after  treatment  the  hydrogen-ion  con- 
centration of  the  Carrington  silt  loam  had  nearly  quadrupled  by  the 
addition  of  200  pounds  of  potassium  chloride  per  acre.  The  other  ad- 
ditions also  caused  a marked  increase.  At  the  end  of  a month  this  in- 
crease had  largely  disappeared,  in  the  case  of  the  sulfate,  but  the 
chloride  still  showed  a marked  effect. 

In  the  case  of  the  peat  soil  the  result  was  quite  different  in  that  the 
addition  of  the  salts  lowered  the  hydrogen-ion  concentration.  The  rea- 


Fertilizers 


51 


son  for  this  is  not  clear.  It  is  possible  that  this  peat  soil  was  so  low 
in  potassium  that  bacterial  activity  was  limited.  The  addition  of  the 
potash  salts  may  have  stimulated  ammonification  sufficiently  to  produce 
enough  ammonia  to  lower  the  acidity. 

From  the  data  presented,  together  with  many  other  observations, 
there  is  no  question  but  what  the  addition  of  salts  like  potassium 
chloride  on  acid  mineral  soils  markedly  raises  the  hydrogen-ion  concen- 
tration and  may  thus  greatly  affect  nitrification  and  other  bacterial 
activity. 

In  order  to  obtain  further  data  on  the  effect  of  fertilizers  on  the  hy- 
drogen ion  concentration  of  the  soil  and  also  on  ammonification  and 
nitrification,  14  plots,  2 feet  on  a side,  were  marked  out  on  a Carring- 
ton silt  loam  on  the  Kayser  Farm  on  June  13.  The  fertilizer  treatments 
indicated  in  table  XXIII  were  made  over  the  whole  plot,  at  a rate  which 
is  equivalent  to  the  concentration  secured  around  the  hill,  in  hill  fertili- 
zation of  corn.  The  fertilizers  were  thoroughly  mixed  with  the  sur- 
face 2 inches  of  soil.  At  the  periods  indicated  in  the  table,  each  plot 
was  sampled  by  taking  five  borings  to  a depth  of  5 inches,  and  de- 
terminations made  as  indicated  in  the  table. 

After  26  days,  the  most  striking  effect  of  the  treatments,  was  the 
enormous  increase  in  nitrates  due  to  the  application  of  acid  phosphate. 
The  addition  of  potassium  chloride  with  the  acid  phosphate  decreased 
nitrification  somewhat  in  comparison  to  acid  phosphate  alone,  due  prob- 
ably to  an  increase  in  hydrogen-ion  concentration.  With  respect  to 
the  two  treatments  just  mentioned,  the  results  confirm  the  theories 
previously  advanced.  The  data  indicate  that  the  increases  obtained  from 
the  use  of  acid  phosphate,  especially  in  the  hill,  may  at  times  be  due,  at 
least  partially,  to  its  effect  in  making  nitrogen,  and  possibly  also  potas- 
sium, more  available.  The  data  also  indicate  how  increased  applica- 
tions of  potassium  chloride  may  decrease  yields  by  lowering  nitrifica- 
tions. These  effects  will  undoubtedly  vary  with  the  kind  of  soil.  The 
results,  together  with  those  previously  mentioned,  show  how  compli- 
cated the  actions  of  fertilizers  may  be,  and  indicate  that  a study  of 
the  secondary  effects  of  fertilizers  offers  a promising  field  of  investi- 
gation, the  results  of  which  might  help  greatly  in  explaining  peculiar 
results  which  are  sometimes  obtained  from  the  use  of  fertilizers.  Fer- 
tilizer practice  might  thus  be  placed  on  a more  rational  basis. 

The  results  also  show  that  ammonium  sulfate  nitrified  faster  than 
blood  meal  and  sludge.  Rock  phosphate  and  lime  favored  nitrification. 

After  47  days  there  were  some  weeds  which  were  largest  on  the  plots 
having  the  most  nitrates,  and  undoubtedly  they  had  used  some  of  the 
nitrates.  Some  nitrates  were  lost  by  leaching  and  probably  some  were 
used  up  by  bacterial  growth.  For  these  reasons  the  full  amount  of  ni- 
trates applied  were  not  recovered.  At  the  end  of  the  period,  the 
plots  treated  with  ammonium  sulfate,  blood  meal,  and  sludge  had  more 
nitrates  than  the  plot  treated  with  sodium  nitrate  alone.  The  desira- 
bility of  using  a variety  of  nitrogen  carriers  having  different  rates  of 
availability  is  thus  supported  by  this  experiment. 

Because  of  the  great  importance  of  the  results,  the  experiment  needs 
to  be  repeated  with  several  different  soils.  It  is  to  be  emphasized 
that  so  marked  results  as  these  just  reported  are  probably  only  ob- 
tained when  high  concentrations  of  fertilizers  are  applied,  as  is  the 
case  in  hill  fertilization. 

GENERAL  SUMMARY 

The  basal  supply  of  essential  elements  in  the  soil  should,  of  course, 
be  maintained  by  the  broadcast  application  of  fertilizers  and  manure, 
and  the  growing  of  legumes.  Under  certain  conditions  the  additional  ap- 


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Fertilizers 


53 


plication  of  fertilizers  in  the  hill  or  drill  row  is  sometimes  desirable 
in  order  to  supply  the  special  needs  of  certain  crops  and  thus  promote 
early  growth,  hasten  maturity,  and  increase  yields.  This  use  of  fertiliz- 
ers in  the  hill  or  drill  row,  together  with  closely  related  problems,  has 
been  the  subject  of  this  investigation ; and  the  results  may  be  sum- 
marized as  follows: 

Methods  of  Application  and  Effect  on  Germination 

1.  — When  considerable  concentrations  of  fertilizer  are  applied  near 
the  seed,  such  as  occur  when  100  to  200  pounds  are  applied  in  the  hill 
for  corn,  the  fertilizer  should  never  be  allowed  to  come  in  direct 
contact  with  the  seed,  otherwise  germination  may  be  greatly  delayed 
or  entirely  prevented.  Fertilizer  should  always  be  mixed,  at  least  some- 
what, with  the  soil,  and  in  no  case  should  it  be  dropped  and  left  in 
masses. 

2.  — Field  peas,  cowpeas,  navy  beans,  and  soybeans  are  very  sensitive 
to  fertilizer  in  contact  with  the  seed.  Application  of  fertilizer  about 
inch  above  the  seed,  the  same  as  for  corn,  is  probably  the  best  method  in 
the  case  of  hill  and  drill  row  application. 

3.  — Squash,  cucumbers,  watermelons,  and  muskmelons  are  quite  sensi- 
tive to  fertilizers  and,  in  case  of  hill  application,  it  is  best  to  apply  the 
fertilizer  about  54  inch  above  the  seed. 

4.  — Germination  of  lettuce  and  carrots  is  affected  and  delayed  most 
by  application  of  fertilizer  near  the  surface.  For  these  plants  it  is  best 
to  work  the  fertilizer  into  the  soil  several  inches. 

5.  — Potato  sprouts  are  very  much  more  sensitive  to  fertilizer  than 
corn  sprouts,  and  it  is  believed  that  this  is,  at  least  partly,  due  to  the 
lower  osmotic  pressure  of  the  potato  sprout  sap  than  the  corn  sprout 
sap.  Best  methods  of  applying  fertilizer  to  corn  and  potatoes  are 
described  under  experiments  with  these  crops. 

6. —' There  are  at  least  three  factors,  inherent  in  the  seed  or  sprout 
itself,  which  determine  the  amount  of  effect  of  fertilizers  on  the  ger- 
mination of  seed ; viz.,  osmotic  pressure  of  the  seed,  osmotic  pressure 
of  the  sprout,  and  amount  of  protective  covering  on  the  sprout. 

7. - — The  experiments  with  corn  agree  with  the  results  of  other  in- 
vestigators that  the  germination  of  seeds  is  affected  by  fertilizers  more 
easily  on  sandy  soils  than  on  peats  and  heavier  soils,  and  more  easily 
at  low  than  at  high  moisture  contents. 

Corn  Experiments 

1. - — The  experiments  indicate  that  under  Southern  Wisconsin  condi- 
tions, if  a soil  will  not  produce  more  than  40  or  50  bushels  of  corn  per 
acre  due  to  lack  of  essential  elements  and  not  moisture,  hill  or  drill  row 
application  of  fertilizer  will  probably  be  profitable;  but  if  the  yield 
is  60  to  75  bushels,  a profitable  increase  from  fertilization  becomes 
questionable  and  usually  can  be  obtained  only  under  conditions  of  in- 
tensive cultivation  and  favorable  weather  conditions. 

2.  — Of  the  fertilizer  mixtures  used  in  hill  fertilization,  the  2-12-2  and 
3-10-4  mixtures  have  given  the  best  results.  Undoubtedly,  2-14-2, 
3-12-4,  and  2-12-6  mixtures  would  give  equally  good  results.  As  a 
source  of  nitrogen  for  this  purpose  ammonium  sulfate  was  somewhat 
superior  to  the  other  forms. 

3.  — An  application  of  120  pounds  per  acre  in  the  hill  was  a satisfactory 
rate.  In  the  case  of  all  except  sandy  soils,  the  rate  may  be  increased  to 
200  pounds  per  acre  without  danger  of  injuring  germination,  providing 
the  fertilizer  is  properly  applied.  If  the  corn  and  fertilizer  are  drilled, 
300  to  400  pounds  per  acre  may  safely  be  applied. 


54 


Wisconsin  Research  Bulletin  65 


4.— The  best  method  of  hill  application  is  to  apply  the  fertilizer  in  a 
band  about  4 inches  wide  and  8 inches  long  from  y2  to  yA  inch  directly 
above  the  seed.  The  fertilizer  should  never  be  dropped  directly  in 
contact  with  the  seed.  Many  of  the  attachments  on  corn  planters  do 
not  apply  the  fertilizer  properly  and  this  situation  has  probably  pre- 
vented better  results  in  practice,  more  than  anything  else. 

5— When  fertilizer  is  applied  as  directed  it  promotes  early  growth 
which  facilitates  early  cultivation.  Maturity  may  in  some  cases  be 
hastened  from  one  to  two  weeks. 

6.— Numerous  greenhouse  and  field  tests  have  given  no  evidence 
that  hill  fertilization  restricts  root  growth. 

7—  Experiments  indicate  that  medium  heavy  applications  of  fertilizer, 
especially  when  applied  in  the  hill  so  that  the  fertilizer  is  in  position 
to  produce  an  immediate  effect,  may  lower  the  freezing  point  of  young 
corn  plants  one  to  two  degrees  and  thus  prevent  freezing.  This  effect 
would  be  greatest  with  poor  soils  and  less  with  the  more  fertile  soils. 

Oat  Experiments 

T — The  experiments  were  usually  conducted  on  fields  in  a good 
state  of  fertility  and  the  returns  from  the  use  of  fertilizer  have  not  been 
uniformly  profitable.  ' 

2. - — In  the  season  of  1920,  which  was  very  favorable  for  oats,  the  un- 
fertilized plots  produced  an  average  of  73  bushels  of  oats  per  acre  and 
the  best  fertilizer  treatments  increased  the  yield  10  to  20  bushels 
per  acre,  hastened  maturity,  and  lessened  lodging.  In  this  case,  even 
though  the  yields  on  the  unfertilized  plots  were  high,  fertilization  when 
properly  made  was  profitable. 

3.  — There  are  indications  that  nitrogen  in  the  form  of  sodium  nitrate 
is  better  than  the  other  forms  for  oats. 

4.  — Application  of  mixed  fertilizers  in  the  drill  row  has  given  better 
results  than  when  broadcasted. 

5.  — Application  of  fertilizer  in  the  drill  row  just  a little  above  the 
seed  is  probably  better  than  mixing  right  with  the  seed,  although  ap- 
parently 200  pounds  of  mixed  fertilizer  per  acre  can  be  applied  so  as  to 
mix  with  the  seed  without  appreciable  injury.  This  probably  applies 
to  the  other  small  grains  as  well  as  oats. 

6.  — The  maturity  of  oats  was  hastened  more  by  the  addition  of  phos- 
phorus than  potassium  or  nitrogen.  The  combination  of  phosphorus 
and  potassium  hastened  the  maturity  of  oats  most  of  all. 

7.  — Under  dairy  farming  conditions  it  does  not  seem  probable  that 
the  addition  of  mixed  fertilizers  for  oats  on  most  soils  will  prove  pro- 
fitable. Weather  conditions  so  often  become  the  limiting  factor  in 
oats  production  that  the  addition  of  mixed  fertilizers  often  does  not 
pay  as  regards'  the  oat  crop,  but  might  if  subsequent  crops  are  con- 
sidered. 

Cabbage  Experiments 

1. — In  the  case  of  a peat  soil,  300  pounds  per  acre  of  0-10-10  fertilizer 
applied  in  the  row  increased  the  yield  of  cabbage  more  than  when  1,200 
pounds  was  applied  broadcast.  Application  in  the  row  thus  seems 
to  be  more  economical  than  broadcast  application  for  cabbage. 

Potato  Experiments 

1.  — Application  of  fertilizer  below  or  to  the  side  of  the  potato  seed 
usually  results  in  a much  better  stand  and  yield  than  application  with  or 
directly  above  the  seed. 

2.  — Potato  sprouts  are  very  tender  and  are  easily  injured  if  they 
come  in  contact  with  high  concentrations  of  fertilizers  as  occurs  with 
applications  directly  above  the  seed. 


Fertilizers 


55 


Ammoniacal  and  Nitrate  Nitrogen 

1.  — In  quartz  cultures,  sodium  nitrate  produced  in  all  cases  as  good 
or  better  growth  than  ammonium  sulfate. 

2. - — Any  salt  which  contains  the  ammonium  radical  seems  to  be  toxic 
to  oats  in  quartz  cultures. 

3.  — With  field  applications  the  conditions  are  quite  different,  since 
in  this  case  the  ammonium  radical  combines  largely  with  soil  acids 
and  its  concentration  in  the  soil  solution  is  greatly  reduced  and  toxic 
action  prevented.  In  this  way  excessive  leaching  is  prevented  and 
through  nitrification,  gradually  the  nitrate  form  is  produced  to  supply 
the  plants  as  needed.  Under  certain  conditions  the  ammoniacal  form 
may  thus  be  more  economical  than  the  nitrate  form. 

4.  — In  case  of  a concentrated  application  near  the  seed,  it  is  probably 
best  to  apply  the  nitrogen  in  several  forms  : some  nitrate  for  immediate 
use,  some  ammoniacal  nitrogen  but  not  enough  to  be  toxic  for  a little 
later  use,  and  some  organic  nitrogen  for  still  later  use.  Nitrate  nitro- 
gen is  not  fixed  in  the  soil  and  herjce  its  use  above  a certain  amount  in 
humid  regions  is  certain  to  result  in  a loss. 


Secondary  Effects  of  Fertilizers 

1.  — Acid  phosphate  when  applied  in  high  concentrations  greatly  stim- 
ulates nitrification  and  may  in  this  way  produce  a decided  secondary 
effect  on  plant  growth. 

2.  — Potassium  chloride  increases  the  hydrogen-ion  concentration  of 
acid  soils,  and  may  in  this  way  when  applied  in  heavy  amounts  decrease 
plant  growth  due  to  lessened  nitrification  or  other  effects. 

3.  — The  secondary  effects1  of  fertilizers  are  probably  much  more  im- 
portant than  usually  appreciated,  and  a further  study  of  these  would 
probably  help  greatly  to  answer  many  perplexing  questions  regarding 
fertilizer  usage. 


LITERATURE  CITED 


(1)  Allison,  F.  E. 

1918  Some  .availability  studies'  with  ammonium  phosphate  and 
its  chemical  and  biological  effects  upon  the  soil.  In  Soil 
Sci.,  V.  5,  p.  1 — 80. 

(2)  Brigham,  R.  O. 

1917.  Assimilation  of  organic  nitrogen  by  zea  mays  and  the  in- 
fluence of  bacillus  subtilus  on  such  assimilation.  In  Soil 
Sci.,  V.  3,  p.  155-95. 

(3)  Brown,  P.  E.  and  Gowda,  R.  N. 

1924.  The  effect  of  certain  fertilizers  on  nitrification.  In  Jour. 
Am.  Soc.  Agron.,  V.  16,  p.  137-146. 

(4)  Buffum,  B.  C.  • 

1899.  (a)  Alkali : Some  observations  and  experiments.  In  Wyo. 

Agr.  Expt.  Sta.  Bui.  29,  1896.  (b)  Alkali  Studies,  III  Pub. 

as  part  of  Wyo.  Agr.  Expt.  Sta.  9th  Ann.  Rpt. 

(5)  Coe,  D.  G. 

1922.  Fertilizing  the  potato  crop — What  is  the  best  way  to  do 
it?  In  Hints  to  Potato  Growers,  N.  J.  State  Potato  Assoc., 
V.  2,  No.  10. 

(6)  Gowda,  R.  N. 

1924.  Nitrates  and  nitrification  in  field  soils.  In  Soil  Sci.,  V.  17, 
p.  333-342. 

(7)  Harris,  F.  S. 

1915  Effect  of  alkali  salts  in  soils  on  the  germination  and 
growth  of  crops.  In  Jour.  Agr.  Res.,  V.  5,  p.  1 -53. 

(8)  Hicks,  G.  H. 

1900  The  germination  of  seeds  as  affected  by  certain  chemical 
fertilizers.  In  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  Div.  Bot.  Bui.  24. 

(9)  Hutchinson,  H.  B.  and  Miller,  N.  H.  J. 

1911  The  direct  assimilation  of  inorganic  and  organic  forms  of 
nitrogen  by  higher  plants.  In  Centr.  Bakt.  Abt.  II.  Bd. 
30,  p.  513-47. 

(10)  Hutcheson,  T.  B.  and  Wolfe,  T.  K. 

The  effect  of  fertilizers  on  the  germination  of  seeds.  In 
Va.  Agr.  Expt.  Sta.  Ann.  Rpt.  for  1918-19,  p.  33-37. 

(11)  McCall,  A.  G. 

1917  A new  method  for  harvesting  small  grain  and  grass  plots. 
In  Jour.  Amer.  Soc.  Agron.,  V.  9,  p.  138-40. 

(12)  Pantanelli,  E.  and  Severini,  G. 

1910  Experiments  on  the  use  of  various  ammonium  salts  as 
plant  food.  In  Staz.  Sper.  Agrar.  Ital.,  V.  43,  p.  449-544. 

(13)  Rudolfs,  W . 

1921  Effects  of  salt  solutions  having  definite  osmotic  concen- 
tration values  upon  absorption  by  seeds.  In  Soil  Sci.,  V. 
11,  p.  277-93. 

(14)  Rusche,  A. 

1912  Beeinflussung  der  Keimfahigkeit  verschiedener  Kulturp- 
flanzen  durch  Salzdiingnung.  In  Jour,  f,  Landw.,  Bd.  60, 
p.  305-65. 

(15)  Salter,  R.  M.  and  Mcllvaine,  T.  C. 

1920  Effect  of  reaction  of  solution  on  germination  of  seeds  and 
on  growth  of  seedlings.  In  Jour.' Agr.  Res.,  V.  19,  p.  73-95. 

(16)  Sherwin,  M.  E. 

1923  The  effect  of  fertilizers  on  germination  and  seedling 
growth.  In  Jour.  Amer.  Soc.  Agron.,  V.  15,  p.  66-73. 

(17)  Sigmund,  W. 

1896  Uber  die  Einwirkung  chemischer  Agentien  auf  die  Kei- 
mung.  In  Landw.  Vers.  Sta.,  Bd.  47,  p.  1-58. 

(18)  Slosson,  E.  E.  and  Buffum,  B.  C. 

1898  Alkali  Studies : II.  In  Wyo.  Agr.  Expt.  Sta.  Bui.  39. 

(19)  Slosson,  E.  E. 

1899  Alkali  Studies  IV.  In  Wyo.  Agr.  Expt.  Sta.  9th  Ann.  Rpt. 

(20)  Stewart,  J. 

1898  Effect  of  alkali  on  seed  germination.  In  Utah  Agr.  Expt. 
Sta.,  9th  Ann.  Rpt.,  p.  26. 


/ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

630.7W75RE  C002 

RESEARCH  BULLETIN  MADISON 
51-65  1921-25 


3 0112  019935995 


